Don't Look Back
by WeirdyMcWeirderton
Summary: Sam has his soul back and everything is back to normal...well, kind of. Sam keeps digging into his year soulless and Dean and Gracilynn have to fight to keep Sam around just a little bit longer. Secrets are found out and it sends the Winchesters into a tailspin. Will they be able to hold it together long enough to save the world...again. Sequel to Over the Hills and Far Away.
1. Good to Have You Back

Alright everyone, here's what ya'll have been waiting for! The next story in the Gracie series! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Supernatural, not the characters (although I wish) or anything else familiar. I only own Gracie.

Dean stands in Bobby's basement, his arms folded and fingers tapping his opposite arm. Gracilynn is sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, staring off into space, absentmindedly tapping "Back in Black" on the stairs. The panic room door opens and Cas comes out as he rolls down his sleeves. Behind him, Sam is lying on the cot hooked up to an IV.

"Well?" Dean asks impatiently, causing Gracilynn to halt her tapping and look up at Cas.

"His soul is in place," Cas says simply.

"Is he ever gonna wake up?" Dean asks.

"I'm not a human doctor, Dean," Cas answers, annoyed.

"Well, could you take a guess?" Dean counters, just as annoyed.

"Okay. Probably not," Cas answers.

"What?" Gracilynn asks, fear in her eyes. Dean chances a glance in her direction before he looks back at Cas.

"Oh, well, don't sugarcoat it," Dean replies.

"I'm sorry, Dean, but I warned you not to put that thing back inside him," Cas says irritated.

"What was I supposed to do? Let T-1000 walk around, hope he doesn't open fire?" Dean counters defensively.

"Let me tell you what his soul felt like when I touched it. Like it had been skinned alive, Dean. If you wanted to kill your brother, you should have done it outright," Cas says angrily. Cas suddenly disappears and Dean looks around the basement, seeing Sam still sleeping and Gracilynn still sitting on the stairs. Only now, instead of zoning out she is very much paying attention.

"Uncle Sam'll wake up right? He's not gonna die right dad?" Gracilynn asks. Dean looks over at Sam, feeling his own emotions rising up. "Dad?"

"He'll wake up," Dean says, looking back at Gracilynn, hoping his voice sound more confident than he feels. "He'll be fine."

Dean walks into the library and sits down at the desk across from Bobby. Bobby pours him a drink and sets it down in front of him.

"Like my daddy always said, just 'cause it kills your liver don't mean it ain't medicine," Bobby says. "Gracilynn asleep?"

"Yeah, just," Dean says, picking up his glass.

"Sam still asleep?" Bobby asks. Dean takes a drink and so does Bobby.

"Yeah," Dean replies.

"He'll wake up," Bobby assures the elder brother.

"Yeah," Dean says again.

"Dean, he's been through how much? Somehow, he always bounces back," Bobby continues, knowing Dean doesn't quite believe Sam will get through this and is worrying himself sick.

"He's never been through this," Dean counters, worry evident in his voice. Dean notices the newspaper printout Bobby's looking at. "Job?"

"Might be," Bobby says, passing the printout over to Dean. It's from _The Portland Chronicle_, the headline saying _SMALL PLANE CRASH KILLS TWO_.

"Can I help? Send me to the library? Anything?" Dean asks, desperate for something to take his mind off his brother.

"Couple goes up in a light plane. Wreckage was just found in the woods," Bobby explains.

"Couple of Buddy Hollys?" Dean asks. "Doesn't really seem like News of the Weird."

"Pilot was found seventeen miles away, flambéed. Girl's just gone. No body, no nothing," Bobby says.

"Okay, I'm not changing the channel," Dean replies.

"Dean," Sam says from behind them. Dean sets down his glass hard on the desk and turns around, seeing Sam has entered the room. Dean stands up, not really believing his brother is standing in front of him.

"Sam?" Dean asks. Sam walks over and gives him a huge hug which Dean returns. Sam lets go and walks over, giving Bobby a hug as well.

"Good to see you," Bobby says as they pull away.

"Wait. I saw you…I…I felt Lucifer snap your neck," Sam says, trying to make sense of everything.

"Well, Cas kind of…" Bobby begins.

"Cas is alive?" Sam asks, interrupting.

"Yeah, Cas…Cas is fine," Dean says. He's about to say something but here's a thump from upstairs.

Gracilynn stirs in her sleep. She blinks her eyes open sleepily. She hadn't been asleep for very long, but something had caused her to wake up. She rolls over onto her back and stares at the ceiling, taking stock of everything. That's when she hears it.

"Wait. I saw you…I…I felt Lucifer snap your neck," she hears. _Uncle Sammy? It…it can't be. He…he._ Gracilynn listens to see if she hears him again.

"Well, Cas kind of…" she hears Bobby say.

"Cas is alive?" Sam asks. That was all the confirmation she needed. She heard his voice twice and that was good enough for her. She vaguely hears her dad answer her uncle but she's too busy whipping her blankets off and catapulting herself off her bed to figure out what he says. In her haste, though, she trips over her boots on the floor, crashing to the floor. _How the hell'd they get there?_ Gracilynn shoves herself back up to her feet, not wanting to waste any more time. She rushes out the door and down the stairs, turning into the library and sliding to a stop when she sees her uncle standing in the middle of the room. She feels her emotions begin to rise up but tries her best to control them. The three men in front of her turn and look over at her, a grin spreading across Sam's face.

"Hey, Smalls," Sam says quietly. Dean smiles softly at the nickname. Gracilynn feels her wall break and a tear fall down her face even as a grin spread on her face as well. She runs over and plows into her uncle, giving him a bear hug, which he returns. She clings onto him as if she lets go he'll disappear.

"I missed ya, Sasquatch," Gracilynn whispers loud enough for Sam to hear. Sam feels his own tear fall, but doesn't care. Dean clears his throat, quickly wiping away a tear and looks over at Bobby and sees him wiping away a tear too. Gracilynn reluctantly pulls away, but doesn't leave Sam's side.

"So, um…" Dean clears his throat, hearing it full of emotion. He looks over at Sam. "Sam, are you okay?"

"Actually, um...I'm starving," Sam replies.

Sam is sitting at the table with Dean across from him and Gracilynn next to him as he eats a sandwich. Dean and Sam have beers in front of them and Bobby is leaning up against the counter.

"So, Sam…" Dean begins. Sam looks over at his brother.

"Yeah?" he asks.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dean asks. Gracilynn watches as her uncle thinks about it.

"The field. And then I fell," Sam answers.

"Okay. And then?" Dean asks.

"I woke up in the panic room," Sam replies.

"That's it? You really don't remember…" Bobby begins but Dean cuts in.

"Let's be glad. Who wants to remember all that hell?" Dean says. Gracilynn gives her dad a look but shrugs it off at her uncles' question.

"Well, how long was I gone?" Sam asks nonchalantly.

"About a year and a half," Dean answers. Sam looks surprised.

"What? I was downstairs f… I don't remember anything. So, how'd I get back? Was it Cas?" Sam asks, getting into the conversation more and forgetting his sandwich for a moment.

"Not exactly," Dean answers hesitantly.

"Dean, what did you do?" Sam asks, then, turns to Gracilynn. "What'd he do?"

Gracilynn doesn't know what to say so she just looks over at her dad.

"Me and Death…" Dean begins.

"Death?! The horseman?" Sam asks, interrupting.

"I had leverage. It's done," Dean says firmly.

"You sure?" Sam asks, knowing nothing in their lives is this simple.

"It's over. Slate's wiped," Dean assures, tone still firm.

"Well, isn't this just neat and clean?" Bobby asks.

"Yes, it is…for once," Dean says, giving Bobby a look.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Sam asks, having a feeling there's more to the story than what his brother is letting on. Dean hesitates a moment.

"No. Another beer?" Dean says. Gracilynn's eyes dart to her dad's.

"Uh, yeah," Sam answers. Dean gets up and heads over to the fridge.

"Well, I'm gonna go work on a car that needs to get done," Bobby says with a forced smile.

"Uh, okay," Dean says, watching as Bobby leaves the kitchen. Dean walks over and hands Sam a beer before setting his own down on the table. "Eat Sam."

Sam rolls his eyes but picks up his sandwich and begins eating nonetheless.

"Hey." Gracilynn up from her laptop to see her dad walk into her room. Gracilynn glances behind him but doesn't see anyone else.

"He's taking a shower," Dean says, knowing exactly who she was looking for. Dean walks over to the bed and sits down, facing his daughter. "Listen…"

"Why didn't you tell him about the past six months?" Gracilynn asks, cutting her dad off. Dean sighs. Truthfully, this was _exactly_ why he had come up here.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that," Dean says. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow as if to say 'go on'. "If Sam knows everything that happened, he'll never forgive himself. And it wasn't really him, you and I both know that. He'll start digging around for answers and if he does that…"

"The wall will break," Gracilynn finishes. Dean nods his head.

"Yeah," Dean says. "So, just…you know."

"Don't tell my uncle he was a crazed, soulless, douchebag for the better part of six months?" Gracilynn asks. Dean smirks and chuckles.

"Yeah, that," he replies.

"I think I can manage that," Gracilynn says.

"Figured you could," Dean says, rustling her hair and causing an annoyed groan from Gracilynn before he leaves her room.

Gracilynn looks up when she hears a knock on her doorframe. Her dad went out in the yard to talk to Bobby so she knew it wasn't him. Which means it could only be one other person. She looks towards the door and sees Sam standing in it. Gracilynn grins.

"Hey," she says, taking a seat at the end of her bed. Sam takes it as approval for him to come in and walks in, sitting down next to his niece.

"You doing alright?" Sam asks, looking over at his niece. A small smile appears on her face and she nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replies looking over at her uncle. "Why?"

"I don't know, cause you've been really quiet since you came flying into the library earlier," Sam says. Before Gracilynn realizes it, she feels a tear fall down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away, cursing herself for letting her emotions get the better of her, but not before Sam notices. He furrows his eyebrows.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, concern lacing his voice. Gracilynn laughs in relief and she sniffs, feeling the tears begin to well up more. "Smalls?"

"God, you need to stop," Gracilynn says with no real anger in her voice as she stands up and walks a few steps away, her back to her uncle. Sam is utterly confused, not real sure what to say or think.

"Gracilynn, what's going on?" Sam asks, standing up from the bed. Gracilynn closes her eyes and gets control of her emotions.

"Nothing, just…it's good to have you back," Gracilynn says, turning to face her uncle.

"Nothing?" Sam asks, not believing a word she says.

"I'm fine," Gracilynn says, earning another look from her uncle. "Listen, you were gone for a year and a half. I didn't have your jumbo size to my fun size that _whole_ time. As much as I love dad, it wasn't the same without you around. I just…I just miss you is all."

"I missed you too kiddo," Sam says, pulling Gracilynn in for a hug. He knew there was a lot more to her outburst but she obviously wasn't going to talk about it. And, like Dean, he would have to wait for her. Of course, he wasn't going to wait forever.

Dean walks down the hall towards the stairs, only to see Gracilynn appear from her bedroom. She and Sam had fallen asleep after their little heart to heart and Dean didn't want to wake either one of them. Gracilynn notices the bag slung over her dad's shoulder and she crosses her arms, giving him a look. Dean sighs and walks past her, grabbing her arm and leading her down the stairs.

"Come on," he says. Dean stops by the door and turns to face his daughter.

"You going on a hunt?" she asks.

"Uh…yeah. Bobby found one out in Oregon," Dean says, sheepishly.

"And you were just gonna leave me. Leave me without letting me know," Gracilynn says, slightly perturbed.

"You were asleep. I was gonna call you later and let you know. Didn't want to wake either one of you up," Dean explains. Gracilynn narrows her eyes. Dean sighs, hating the fact his daughter was getting so good at reading him. "Sam just woke up. It's best he stays here and rest for a few more days. It'd be nice to have you stay and keep an eye on him. Make sure he's doing okay."

"All you had to do was ask. You didn't have to sneak out," Gracilynn says.

"Like I said. You were sleeping," Dean replies.

"All right. I'll stay behind. Uncle Bobby's going though right?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, he's going. I'll be fine. Stay outta trouble and keep an eye on Sammy," Dean says before walking out the door. Gracilynn sighs and turns around, taking in the house.

"This is gonna be three very boring days," she grumbles. She walks into the library and turns on the TV. Before she can even get into the show, she hears a noise and looks up to see her uncle walk into the room. "Hey."

"Hey," Sam says, looking around. "Where's Dean?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, outside," Gracilynn answers. Sam nods his head and walks towards the front door. Gracilynn jumps up and follows after him, the two of them walking outside to the Impala. Dean's by the trunk and Bobby's next to the open passenger door.

"Yeah, let him rest. Gracie's staying. We'll call him later," Dean says to something Bobby had said before they got out there.

"Call me from where?" Sam asks.

"Oh. Uh, there's this thing in Oregon," Dean says.

"Great. I'm in," Sam says.

"Whoa, whoa. You just got vertical," Dean says, starting to worry.

"Exactly. I'm up. I'm good," Sam replies.

"Well, a few more days of crap cable couldn't hurt," Dean argues.

"Right. Because that's what _you_ did when you got back from hell," Sam counters.

"All right. You, me, Gracie, and Bobby," Dean says, knowing Sam has a point.

"Oh, you two go on ahead. You got this covered. I, uh, forgot I promised that idjit Rufus I'd work the phones for him, so..." Bobby says, grabbing his bag and shutting the passenger door.

"You sure?" Dean asks him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You two enjoy catching up, okay?" Bobby assures before he leaves. The three Winchesters look after him.

"What was that?" Sam asks, turning back to Dean.

"One part age, three parts liquor," Dean says. Dean and Sam head to their respective door and Gracilynn heads to the back drivers' door. She gives her dad a look, knowing something's up, but he gives her a look that tells her to drop it. Gracilynn bites her tongue and climbs into the Impala, glad they're hunting together again.

Nice long chapter for ya'll! Please review and let me know what ya'll thought! Can't wait to take the Winchesters on a new journey!


	2. Virgins, Sam

Because it's Sammy's birthday, here is a quick update for ya guys! Enjoy!

"Uh, you got it, officer. Thank you. You too," Sam says into the phone before hanging up. "So, get this…besides the crash, there were two other disappearances in town this week."

"Really?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, last weekend, a college girl vanished from her apartment. On the seventeenth floor. Then, three days ago, another girl didn't make it home from school," Sam replies.

"They know each other?" Dean asks, leaning over slightly as Gracilynn leans over the back seat to peer at the information.

"No. No connection. Just young and female, like the plane-crash girl," Sam answers.

"What would disappear a girl out of the sky, anyway?" Dean asks.

"Bermuda Triangle," Gracilynn says matter-of-factly.

"Well, besides that," Dean says.

"Good question," Sam says. He looks down at the papers on his lap and waits a moment before making up his mind and turning to look at Dean and Gracilynn. "So, you guys never even tried, huh?  
"What?" Gracilynn asks, confused.

"Tried?" Dean asks, just as confused as his daughter.

"To go live a life...after. You do remember you promised that, right?" Sam says.

"Yeah, I remember," Dean says, sharing a look with Gracilynn in the rearview mirror. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip.

"So, why didn't you try?" Sam asks.

"What makes you think we didn't?" Dean asks in turn.

"'Cause look at you. Look at Gracilynn. Look at this. You're exactly the same," Sam points out.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dean says. There is a long pause; Gracilynn waits for her dad to say something. Finally, he does. "We was with them for a year…Lisa and Ben."

"A year?" Sam asks, shooting a look at Gracilynn. Both Dean and Gracilynn nod their heads. "So, then what?"

Dean shares another look with Gracilynn in the rearview mirror before answering.

"Didn't work out," he says shortly. He reaches over and turns up the music, effectively ending the conversation. Gracilynn bites her lip but doesn't say anything; she sits back in her seat and rests her head on her window, staring at the scenery flying by.

"You're, uh...Penny Dessertine's sister, right?" Dean says to the young woman in front of them.

"Mm-hmm," she replies.

"Uh, we'd just like to ask you a few questions," Sam says.

"Look, the cops already came by. I'm tired. So, if you don't mind…" Penny's sister says.

"I…I understand. Really, I do. I know how hard this must be. We'd just like to figure out what happened. This will be quick. I promise," Sam pushes gently, compassion evident on his face. Dean and Gracilynn smile, glad to have the old Sam back.

"Okay. Fine. Come in," the young woman says, stepping to the side and letting them in. She leads them into the living room and the four of them take a seat.

"Penny was very shy. To herself. Not at all what you'd call adventurous," Penny's sister begins.

"What, like flying through a lightning storm in a two-seater?" Dean says, with a hint of sarcasm.

"She was terrified of that thing. She just did it for Stan," the sister answers.

"Stan?" Sam asks.

"They were just starting to get serious. She didn't want to seem, you know...Not interested. I just wish I'd told her to stay home. We don't even have a body to bury," Penny's sister says, voice filled with emotion.

"Hey," Sam calls out, gaining his brother and niece's attention.

"What do you got?" Dean asks.

"Uh...Well, looks like those other two missing girls both baked cookies for the lord," Sam says.

"What is that? Code?" Dean asks, earning a snort from Gracilynn.

"No. Church choir, bake sales, promise-ring clubs…the works. They were good girls. But Penny wasn't even a Christian, so…," Sam answers.

"I have another theory. Penny's diary," Dean says, holding up a journal.

"Did you steal that from her room?" Sam asks, appalled.

"I love that you even asked me that," Dean says, taking a seat at the table with Sam and Gracilynn.

"And why wouldn't I?" Sam asks, confused.

"No reason. So girl-nappings. What if it's not about religion, what if it's about purity?" Dean asks.

"Purity as in…?" Gracilynn asks.

"You mean you think they're all…" Sam says, catching on.

"Virgins, Sam. Virgins," Dean says.

"Penny was twenty-two," Sam says, not getting it.

"Yeah, with a pink room," Dean points out.

"So?" Sam replies.

"And stuffed teddy bears," Dean adds. Sam nods in agreement.

"Fine. But you really think…" Sam says. Dean begins reading from Penny's diary.

"'I've decided I'm going to give Stan my most precious gift.'"

"Wow. That sounded really creepy coming out of your mouth," Sam says, slightly unnerved.

"I second that notion," Gracilynn says, her face matching her uncle's.

"I think I delivered it," Dean says.

"You know, you…you could have led with 'the diary'. You know? Anyways, let's say you're right. Fine. Who would want virgins?" Sam asks.

"You got me. I prefer ladies with experience," Dean replies.

"Dude! Dad! Seriously?!" Gracilynn says, disgusted.

"What?" Dean asks. "Speaking of, _you_ aren't allowed to leave either one of our sides."

"What?! Why?!" Gracilynn asks.

"Virgins Gracie. This thing is going after virgins," Dean says as if it's obvious.

"Then, I have nothing to worry about," Gracilynn mutter to herself.

"What?" Dean asks.

"Nothing," Gracilynn says. Dean narrows his eyes and studies her for a moment. He looks over at his brother and sees him watching her himself. Gracilynn sighs in annoyance. "Stop staring at me."

Gracilynn stands up from her chair and all but stomps to the bathroom, shutting the door a little too hard for Dean's taste.

"So, what, you think Batman tried to rape her?" Sam and Dean as the three Winchester walk out of the hospital. They had just finished talking to Melissa, the newest victim, who had told them a giant bat attacked her.

"Well, he does carry a lot of rage. But he rejected her because she was already dehymenated, huh?" Dean says with a smirk. Gracilynn just rolls her eyes.

"You think?" Sam asks.

"I think it just goes to show that being easy's pretty much all upside," Dean answers.

"Well, in that case…" Gracilynn says.

"Not for you," Dean says sternly.

"So, what kind of thing likes virgins and gold?" Sam says, steering his brother and niece back on track.

"P. Diddy?" Dean asks, earning a snort from Gracilynn. Sam rolls his eyes.

"You know, it's comforting," Sam says.

"What's that?" Dean asks.

"I died for a year, came back, and you're still not funny," Sam says.

"Trust me, it didn't get any better when you were gone," Gracilynn says, "In fact, it prolly got worse."

"Shut up. I'm hilarious," Dean says to the two of them, then points at his daughter, "And I don't know what you're talking about. You always laugh at my jokes."

"You get whiny when no one laughs," Gracilynn points out.

"I do not," Dean argues.

"There it is," Sam says.

"What?" Dean replies. Sam shares a look with Gracilynn.

"You're pouting," they say as they climb into the Impala.

"I am not!" Dean argues.

"This can't be possible," Sam says from his seat at the table. They had been searching through books and Sam, the internet, to find anything that could be killing these people.

"Try me," Dean responds.

"Um, I googled 'fire,' 'claws,' 'flying,' 'stealing virgins,' and 'gold,' and it all takes me to the same place," Sam explains.

"Where?" asks Dean.

"_World of Warcraft_ fansites," Sam answers. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know what that means," Dean says.

"Dragons, dude," Sam clarifies.

"You are such a geek," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam give her a look. "What? It's what all the geeks in school do."

Sam gives her his patented 'Bitch-face' and Dean smirks to himself. Sam sends her a glare before addressing Dean once again.

"Anyways, like I said, not possible," Sam says.

"Actually, it might be," Dean says in return.

"How? In what reality?" Sam asks.

"It's been a strange year. We should get a second opinion," Dean says pulling out his phone. He dials a number and puts it to his ear, waiting for the call to connect.

"What do you know about dragons?" Dean asks right off the bat. "Seriously."

There is a few seconds silence and Dean scoffs at something Bobby has said. _Probably something sarcastic_ Gracilynn thinks to herself.

"Could you make a few calls?" Dean asks. "Humor me…You're a gentleman and a scholar."

There is another few seconds pause and Gracilynn visibly sees the tension in her dad's shoulders rise slightly. Most people wouldn't have noticed but being around her dad 24/7 has its perks. She looks over and realizes her uncle has noticed the change as well. She looks back at her dad when he begins speaking again.  
"Everything's fine. Sam and Gracie say hey," Dean says before hanging up the phone.

"You okay?" Sam asks, eyeing his brother.

"Yeah," Dean replies.

"Bobby say anything?" Sam asks.

"Nope," Dean replies, sitting back down at the table. He notices Sam flipping through John's journal.

"Dad never wrote anything about dragons. I promise. I'd remember if I read _The Neverending Story_ in there," Dean says, looking over at the book.

"Hey, did we hunt a skinwalker lately?" Sam asks, stopping on the page. Gracilynn's head whips up to look at her dad from where she's sprawled out on the bed with some books. Dean catches this but doesn't draw attention to it.

"Doesn't ring a bell. Why?" Dean replies nonchalantly.

"I don't know. Just...déjà vu or something. Are you sure? I could have sworn…" Sam begins but Dean interrupts him.

"You got to remember, your eggs are still a little scrambled, right? But, yeah, I'm sure."

"All right. Yeah. Never mind," Sam says, letting it go. Dean's phone rings and he answers it, glancing at his daughter quickly.

"Hey, Bobby. What do you got?" Dean replies. He waits a moment and grabs a piece of paper off the table and looks around for a pen but can't find one.

"Heads up," Gracilynn calls throwing a pen across the room at her dad. Dean looks up in time to have the pen hit him in the forehead. Dean gives Gracilynn a look and she returns it with a sheepish smile. Dean bends down and picks up the pen and begins writing on the paper.

"Dr. Visyak, S.F.U. Got it. Thanks," Dean says. He hangs up the phone and glares at Gracilynn once more.

"What? I said heads up," Gracilynn says in defense before going back to her book.

"All right. We're going to San Francisco, figure out how to kill these things. You figure out where they are," Dean says, throwing Gracilynn's jacket at her. It lands on her head and she yanks it off and glares at her dad.

"Heads up," Dean says with a smirk.

"Sometimes I wonder if you ever grew up after you turned ten," Gracilynn says.

"Me too," Sam agrees. Dean grabs his coat and picks up the pen and chucks it at his brother. "Gracie lets go."

"W-wait. D-did Bobby say where they like to park?" Sam asks, trying to catch up with the abrupt leave.

"No," Dean says as he waits for Gracilynn by the door.

"Great. Back to the lore," Sam says.

"Which says what? That they live in Middle-Earth?" Dean asks.

"No. Caves," Sam replies.

"You are such a nerd," Dean says, opening the door.

"Coming from the guy who just referenced Lord of the Rings," Gracilynn says, following her dad out the door.

Please review! Love hearing what ya'll think!


	3. Your New Mission Sammy

Here's the next chapter! Hope everyone enjoys it!

Dean and Gracilynn walk up the steps to Dr. Visyak's door and Dean presses the buzzer. Gracilynn looks around the porch and front yard while they wait for someone to answer the door. The door opens and a blonde woman peers out.

"Yes?" she asks, looking from Dean to Gracilynn.

"Dr. Visyak. My name is Dean Winchester. This is my daughter, Gracie," Dean says.

"Office hours are Monday and Friday," Dr. Visyak says as she goes to shut the door on them.

"Bobby Singer sent us," Dean says. Dr. Visyak halts the closing of the door and look out at them. "Hello? Hi."

Dr. Visyak opens the door and walks out onto the porch. She studies them for a minute and Dean and Gracilynn give her identical 'innocent' smiles.

"Come on in," Dr. Visyak says, stepping to the side and allowing Dean and Gracilynn to walk into the house. Dr. Visyak shuts the door behind them and leads them into a room. "Bobby Singer. Tell him something for me next time you see him."

"Hmmm?" Dean asks.

"Actually, just kick him in the jewels. That's more poetic," Dr. Visyak says. Gracilynn chuckles, but quickly stifles it when her dad gives her a look.

"No love lost between you two, huh?" Dean says, looking back at Dr. Visyak.

"No. Just the opposite," Visyak replies.

"Oh?" Dean asks, curious.

"That's his story to tell. He's the idiot. So, what's this about?" the doctor asks.

"Well, uh...Dragons," Dean replies.

"Really?" Dr. Visyak asks.

"What, no twelve-sided-dice joke?" Dean responds.

"We can joke about them because they've disappeared. But they aren't funny. At all," Visyak counters.

"Well, one just flew in stateside," Dean says.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Visyak asks.

"Fits the lore to a tee," Gracilynn says.

"But how? I mean, why? It's been seven hundred years," Visyak replies.

"Banner crop of crazy all the way around these days, doc," Dean says.

"So you want to know how to kill it?" Visyak asks.

"No, we wanna know how to make friends with it," Gracilynn says sarcastically. Visyak raises an eyebrow and Dean looks over at her, giving her a look. "What?"

"Really? You done?" Dean asks, his tone conveying that she was indeed done more than as a question. Gracilynn scowls. _'Cause dad _never_ gets sarcastic with people_. Dean turns back to the doctor and gives her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. That's right," he says, answering her previous question.

"Well, you need a blade," Visyak says.

"Uh... Okay. What kind of blade?" Dean asks.

"One forged with dragon's blood," Dr. Visyak says.

"So wait, you need one to kill one, but you got to kill one to make one?" Gracilynn asks.

"How does that work out?" Dean asks.

"Well, there aren't many dragon swords around anymore. Five or six, tops, worldwide. I mean, there's the sword of St. George, and, of course, there's Excalibur. And there's…" Dr. Visyak begins to explain.

"You know a lot about this stuff, don't you?" Dean asks.

"Well, I sure as hell better. I have one in the basement," Dr. Visyak says.

"You have one," Dean says.

"Finding it took two decades, countless hours, and some really bad sex with an eastern European ambassador, but, yeah," Visyak says, walking out of the room. Dean and Gracilynn share a look and quickly follow after the doctor. They arrive at a door and Dr. Visyak opens it. Inside, is a big boulder with a sword embedded inside it.

"That is not real. Is that real? Is it Excalibur?" Dean asks, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Calm down Arthur," Gracilynn says, earning a look from her dad.

"No. This...Is the Sword of Brunswick. Love of my life," Dr. Visyak answers.

"So, uh, what's with the cement shoe?" Dean asks.

"You know, binding sword to stone used to be all the rage. To protect them," the doctor explains.

"All right, well, how do we get this puppy out?" Dean asks. Visyak laughs.

"Well, come on. You know this one. We need a brave knight who's willing to step up and kill the beast," Dr. Visyak replies.

"Right. All right, well, I'll, uh, give it a whirl. Do you mind?" Dean asks.

"Oh," Dr. Visyak says, letting him take a crack at it. Dean walks over to the boulder and Gracilynn quickly takes out her phone. She begins recording and Dean attempts to pull it out, but only succeeds in falling over. Gracilynn snorts and tries to stifle a laugh.

"You okay?" Dr. Visyak asks.

"Never better," Dean replies and tries to pull it out again. He fails again and stumbles backwards. "Oh, son of a bitch! That's really on there!"

Gracilynn chuckles to herself, not able to stifle it very well.

"Yeah, afraid so," Dr. Visyak says.

"Well, I have another idea," Dean says and turns around to notice Gracilynn quickly shoving something into her pocket. His eyes narrow and Gracilynn gives him a smile.

"What's that?" Dr. Visyak asks, pulling Dean back to the task at hand. Dean looks over at her.

"Well, you're not gonna like it," Dean says.

"You know what? I-I-I don't like this at all. You do realize that this is the single most valuable artifact you have ever touched," Dr. Visyak says.

"It's also the only weapon we got. Look, I know what I'm doing, okay? I actually learned it all from Bobby. Hey, whatever happened there, you know he's at least a genius at this. Do you want me to kill that dragon or not?" Dean counters.

"Okay," Visyak says.

"Trust me," Dean says, kneeling down next to the boulder and putting C4 on it. "You rocks think you're so smart. All right. Welcome to the 21st century. All right, stand back."

Dean, Gracilyn, and Dr. Visyak exit the room and Dean shoves Gracilynn behind him, causing her to roll her eyes. Dean pushes a button and detonates the charges.

"Okay. Now..." Dean says, walking back into the room. He pulls the sword out of the broken boulder and they all realize it's been broken in half. Dean shoots her a sheepish look. "You've got insurance for this, right?"

"And what are we supposed to do with this, Dean? Give it a booster shot?" Sam asks, holding up the broken sword.

"It's what we got. All right? We're just gonna have to get a little closer. That's all. Where are we on the caves?" Dean counters.

"Nowhere. Sewers, on the other hand...Here. Check this out," Sam says, walking over to the table where a map is laid out. He points at a place on the map. "So, two of the disappearances happened within a mile of here. So I think we start there and work our way around."

"Awesome. Who doesn't love sewers? Let's go," Dean says. Sam looks like he's about to say something. "What?"

"Nothing. Uh, yeah, let's go," Sam says, following after Dean, only to walk into him when he stops abruptly. Gracilynn walks into her uncle being too short to see her dad stop as well. Dean turns around and looks at her.

"You should stay here," Dean says.

"What?! No way!" Gracilynn says.

"Do I need to mention these dragons go after virgins?!" Dean counters.

"Dean's right, Smalls," Sam jumps in.

"No, he's not!" Gracilynn argues.

"I'm not putting you danger!" Dean yells back.

"I'd have to be a virgin to be in danger dad!" Gracilynn yells back. Suddenly, she clamps a hand over her mouth and her eyes grow wide. _I so did _not_ mean to say that_ Gracilynn thinks. Dean and Sam just stare at her, trying to process what she's just admitted to.

"Wait a minute…you…you're not a…?" Sam begins, breaking the silence.

"Stop Sam," Dean orders. Dean closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He opens them back up and looks over at his daughter whose expression hasn't changed. "You…you just said that to get me to let you go right? Right?"

"Um…" Gracilynn says, not really knowing what to say.

"Gracie? Tell me you just said that to get your way," Dean says. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip. Dean feels like he's going to be sick and he forces a swallow, willing the bile to go back down. "It…you…when?"

"Um…"

"Shut up. I don't want to know," Dean cuts her off, thinking better of it.

"Well, she's seventeen. Seventeen isn't too bad, right?" Sam asks. Dean gives him a look.

"Did you really just say that?" Dean asks, debating whether to hit his brother or to chain his daughter to a post.

"I…I was trying to look on the bright side?" Sam says sheepishly.

"You really believe that?" Dean asks.

"No, but it's better than thinking of the alternative," Sam says, looking over at Gracilynn.

"True. Seventeen. Not the worst that can happen," Dean says, trying to convince himself of the fact.

"Sixteen," Gracilynn all but squeaks. Dean and Sam's heads whip around to face her.

"What?" Sam asks.

"Excuse me?" Dean asks at the same time. "Tell me you did _not_ just say what I think you said."

Gracilynn lets out a nervous laugh. Dean really feels like he's going to be sick now. Either that or punch a hole in the wall.

"Sixteen," Dean says, trying to come to terms with this new revelation. "Which means it was…last year."

Dean looks over at his daughter, realization hitting him. _Last year when Sam was gone. And I wasn't paying as much attention to what she was doing as I should've been_. Dean runs a hand through his hair and down his face.

"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't just some random guy," Gracilynn says.

"It doesn't," Dean says. "Wait, was it Duke?"

"Uh…no. Not necessarily," Gracilynn says.

"Not necessarily! What the hell does that mean?" Dean asks, not really wanting to know.

"I think it means they…did. But she didn't lose…it…with him," Sam says awkwardly. Dean gives Sam a look.

"Do you ever know when to shut up?" he asks. "Just because I ask a question, doesn't mean I want an answer."

Sam purses his lips. Gracilynn takes a deep breath. _Yep, this was gonna be an _awesome_ car ride_.

"Who the hell was it then?" Dean asks. Sam watches his niece who in turn looks between him and her dad. "Gracilynn Samantha. Hello."

"Oh, you actually wanted an answer that time," Gracilynn says, thinking it was another rhetorical question.

"If I didn't want you to answer it, why would I ask you it?" Dean asks. Gracilynn opens her mouth to say something but closes it, looking over at Sam, silently pleading for help. "Don't go looking to your uncle for help here. Who was it?"

"S…" Gracilynn starts but stops, eyes her dad closely. "No."

"Why not?" Dean asks, aggravated.

"'Cause he's a nice guy and I don't want you kicking his ass. Or killing him," Gracilynn says. Gracilynn can see on her dad's face the war he's fighting in his head.

"Fine," he bites out. "Get in the car."

Gracilynn, wisely, doesn't say anything just nods her head and quickly goes out to the car. Once she's out of ear shot, Dean turns and points at Sam.

"You're new mission Sammy…Find out who the douchewad is," Dean says.

"Ya know Dean, it takes two to…" Sam begins.

"So help me Sam, if you finish that sentence, I'm gonna hit you," Dean says, walking out the door. Sam smirks. He wasn't too keen on the fact his seventeen year old niece wasn't a virgin anymore either, but it was pretty funny seeing _Dean Winchester_ have a fit over it.

Please review! Love hearing what ya'll think!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed!


	4. I'm Really Sorry

Here's a quick chapter for ya'll! Enjoy!

"Ugh! God. Just when I get used to a smell, I hit a new flavor. Dude, we have been here for hours. There is nothing. I think the lore is off. Hey, what if, uh...What if dragons like nice hotels?" Dean complains.

"I guess it could happen. I mean nowadays vampires _do_ sparkle," Gracilynn says.

"Yeah, what is with that anyway?" Dean says, making a face.

"Product of LCD," Gracilynn says bluntly. Dean nods his head in agreement and Sam suppresses a smirk at his brother and niece's conversation.

"What is that?" Sam asks, shining at something behind his brother.

"What?" Dean and Gracilynn ask, shining their own flashlights and realize they are looking at a pile of gold.

"Sweet," Gracilynn says.

"Holy crap," says Dean. He picks up a gold watch from the pile and checks it out. "Okay, maybe there are dragons here."

Dean begins taking some of the gold and Gracilynn follows his lead.

"Wait. Dean...Gracilynn…Not now. Check this out," Sam says, walking off towards an alter that he's found. They notice a leather-bound book lying on top of it. "A little arts-and-crafty for a giant bat, right?"

"Hello? Is someone there? Hello?" a girl's voice says. The three hunters shine their flashlights around the sewer and find the girls trapped under the sewer grates.

"Hey. We're gonna get you out," Dean assures.

"Quick. He's coming back," the girl, Penny, warns. Sam is suddenly pulled back by a dragon and Dean takes out the dragon sword.

"Where do you think you're gonna stick that?" the dragon asks Dean. Gracilynn takes this as her chance and begins working on the lock on the grate the girls are in. She looks over to see her dad cut the dragons arm and the dragon yells in pain.

"Where did you get that?" the dragon asks.

"Comic-Con," Dean says. Gracilynn continues to work on the lock and almost has it. She feels someone behind her and whips around to come face to face with another dragon.

"Son of a Bitch," Gracilynn says right before the dragon knocks her to the ground. Before she can get up onto her feet, the dragon is on top of her, leering at her.

"You'd make a nice addition to our li…" the dragon says, stopping abruptly, studying her. Gracilynn tries to shove him off but he doesn't move. Instead, he leans in close and smells her. He pulls back and looks at her. "You're not a…"

"Nope," Gracilynn says slamming her fist into the dragons face. The dragon falls backwards and Gracilynn aims a kick to his chest, sending him sprawling to the ground. She looks over to see a dragon approaching her dad, its hand glowing. Sam distracts the dragon and Dean quickly launches himself towards the sword where it fell between the grates. The dragon Gracilynn had kicked off goes after her dad seeing what he's trying to do. Gracilynn slides over towards the girls' grate and starts on the lock once again. Sam kicks the dragon he's fighting away from him. The dragon lets out a yell and Sam quickly reaches down and grabs the sword. He stabs the dragon attacking Dean, killing it. At the same time, Gracilynn hears the lock click and she takes it off, throwing it to the ground. The other dragon runs out, escaping. Gracilynn flings open the grate and reaches a hand down into the cage and pulls out one of the girls. Gracilynn looks back at her dad and uncle, seeing Sam help Dean up.

"You guys all right?" Gracilynn asks. Dean and Sam look over at her, seeing one of the girls helping the rest of them out of the cage.

"Yeah, you?" they say simultaneously.

"Great," Gracilynn says. Dean checks her over from where he's standing making sure she's telling the truth.

"Let's get outta here then. Get these girls home," Dean says.

Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn are sitting at a table out in Bobby's yard. Dean's playing with one of the watches.

"Hey, Sam. Ask me what time it is," Dean says.

"Why don't you cut to the chase and just roll in it?" Sam counters. Gracilynn chuckles.

"I rarely have wealth," Dean says defensively. Sam looks as if he wants to say something and Gracilynn feels a pit in her stomach.

"Dean…" Sam says.

"Yeah?" Dean asks, not noticing Sam's expression yet.

"I am so...so sorry. I can't even begin to say," Sam says to his brother, then looks over at Gracilynn. "Smalls, I really sorry."

"For what?" Dean asks, deep down knowing what Sam's talking about but not wanting it to be true.

"You know what," Sam counters.

"Did Bobby…" Dean asks. Sam shakes his head. Dean turns to his daughter sitting next to him. "Did you…"

"No," Gracilynn says, shaking her head.

"It was Cas," Sam supplies.

"Cas. Friggin' child," Dean mutters.

"You should have told me, Dean. You both should have," Sam says, directing the last statement to his niece.

"You weren't supposed to know," Dean says.

"What I did? To Bobby? To Gracilynn? To you? Of course I should know," Sam argues.

"Sam, Death didn't just shove your soul back in, okay? He put up the great wall of Sam between you and the things that you don't remember. And trust me when I say that the things you don't know could kill you. That's not a joke," Dean argues in turn.

"All right. But I have to set things right. Or what I can, anyway," Sam counters.

"It wasn't you," Dean says.

"Not even close," Gracilynn puts in.

"You know, I kind of feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time...and I woke up to find out that I had burnt the whole city down. And you can say it wasn't me, but...I'm the one with the zippo in my pocket, you know? So I'm not sure it's that cut and dry. And, look, I a-appreciate you trying to protect me. I really do. But I got to fix... What I got to fix. So I need to know what I did," Sam says.

"But you don't know how dangerous that could be," Dean says.

"What would you do?" Sam asks his brother. Dean is silent, knowing Sam's got him. "Right. Same thing."

"Sam…" Dean begins but Bobby's voice interrupts him.

"Boys, something I think you ought to see," Bobby says walking up to them. The three Winchesters exchange glances but get up and follow Bobby inside to his living room. Bobby sits down and pulls a book over to him.

"Now, as near as I can figure it, this dates back around the fourteenth century," Bobby says.

"What language is it?" Sam asks, picking up the book and peering at the strange words.

"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latinate. Gonna take me my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and, uh, FYI—that ain't paper," Bobby says as Gracilynn flips the page. She looks up at him.

"What is it?" Dean asks, giving the book a look. Gracilynn's not sure she wants to know.

"It's human skin," Bobby says. Gracilynn swiftly retracts her hand from the page and Sam all but drops it back onto the desk in front of Bobby. "Okay. I'm fairly clear on this first bit. It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty. "

"Monsters?" Sam asks.

"It's monsterland. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory," Bobby says.

"Purgatory? Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So, you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?" Dean asks.

"Oh, no, no, no. They're reading an instruction manual," Bobby corrects him.

"What?" Dean asks, not liking the sound of that.

"Yeah. If you're nuts enough to want access to a place that gnarly, this book will show you how to open a door," Bobby explains.

"Door to purgatory. Well, I know a demon who would have loved to have known about that. So, how do you open the door?" Dean asks.

"Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page," Bobby answers. "It gets worse."

"Worse?" Sam asks, dreading to hear how it can get worse.

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in," Bobby further explains.

"Bring something here. What?" Sam asks.

"And why?" Gracilynn adds.

"I'm working on it," Bobby replies.

"Could you give us something?" Dean asks.

"I got a name," Bobby says.

"Okay," Dean says.

"Mother," Bobby says.

"Mother? M-mother of what? Mother of dragons?" Sam asks, trying to make sense of this new information.

"I wish. It says it a few times here. Mother of all," Bobby corrects.

"What the hell does "mother of all" mean?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Bobby answers.

"Well…what if…" Gracilynn starts but stops, thinking about what she wants to say. Dean, Sam, and Bobby all look over at her.

"What if what?" Dean asks.

"Well, they're trying to open Purgatory. Where all these monsters are. What if "mother of all" means mother of all monsters?" Gracilynn says. The three men all exchange glances.

"Looks like this is gonna be another fun year," Dean says, exhaustion in his voice.

Dean walks past his daughter's room and hears laughing coming from inside. He narrows his eyes; things had been really quiet which was why he was canvasing Bobby's house. He presses his ear to the door and hears more laughing, this time realizing Sam is with Gracilynn. _At least it's not some guy_ Dean thinks, shuddering at the news his daughter accidentally dropped on him during their last hunt. Dean opens the door and walks in, noticing Gracilynn jump slightly and quickly hide something behind her back. Dean's eyes narrow at her and she gives him a forced innocent grin. Dean looks over at Sam and sees an identical grin on his face as well.

"What are you two hiding?" Dean asks, father instincts coming to rise.

"Nothing," Sam and Gracilynn say simultaneously.

"Hand it over," Dean says, holding his hand out to Gracilynn.

"Hand what over?" Gracilynn asks.

"You really want to do this? Now? After everything you let out earlier?" Dean asks. Gracilynn sighs and holds up her hands.

"See nothing," Gracilynn says, and even goes as far as spinning in a circle to show she hadn't hid anything in her back pockets or anything. Dean stares at her for a minute. A smirk crosses his lips.

"Hand it over Sam," Dean says, watching his daughter.

"Dean…" Sam begins.

"Sam," Dean says firmly, his eyes moving over to his brother. Sam sighs and holds up his hands, Gracilynn's phone in one. Dean grabs it and looks at what they were watching; a video. Dean glances over at his brother and daughter before playing, realizing Gracilynn had taped him trying to get the sword out of the stone. Dean looks up at his daughter.

"Really?" Dean asks, holding the phone up.

"Oh, come on, you would've done the same thing," Gracilynn argues.

"Damn right I would've," Dean says, "And now I'm gonna delete it."

Dean pushes a couple buttons and hands the phone back to his daughter with a satisfied smirk. Gracilynn scowls.

"You're a jerk," Gracilynn says.

"Yeah, haven't heard that one before," Dean says, giving his brother a look before walking back out of the room and down the stairs.

"Did you…?" Sam asks.

"Oh, yeah," Gracilynn says. Sam and Gracilynn rush to the table with her computer on it and pull up her e-mail. Gracilynn opens up a message and pulls up the video. She looks over at her uncle, both of them wearing smirks identical to Deans' shortly before.

Please review!


	5. It's Not A Joke

Here's the next chapter! I do want to say that it's amazing that you guys love my stories so much. I love writing them and I love my character Gracilynn. She is so much fun to write and it's a blast writing the interactions between her and Dean and Sam. I literally counts down the hours until I get home from work and am able to write some more in these stories and see where the characters are headed to next. So, I think it is so awesome that ya'll enjoy reading this series as much as I love writing them. So, I just wanted to thank all of you for reading and following me throughout this whole journey. You guys' are the best!

"_Sources said prosecutors were getting closer to a decision on whether to charge the actor. But they adamantly denied that any prosecution was in any..._" the TV says. Sam is sitting on the edge of the bed in front of the TV, listening to it intently. Gracilynn is lying on her stomach on the same bed doing her homework.

"What are you watching?" Dean asks as he walks into the room. Gracilynn looks up at her dad.

"Just trying to catch up. So...Mel Gibson really took a turn this past year, huh?" Sam says.

"Or he's possessed. Seriously, think about it. So, I just got off the blower with Bobby," Dean says in turn.

"Oh, yeah? You got anything else on this, uh, 'Mother of All' thing?" Sam asks.

"Uh, no, nothing solid. He says it's quiet," Dean answers. Sam's cell phone dings, announcing a new text.

"Quiet like quiet or quiet like too quiet?" Sam asks, getting up and walking over to his phone on the table.

"When is it ever just quiet?" Dean asks as Sam picks up his phone and looks at it.

"Right," Sam says, reading the text. "Hmm."

"What?" Gracilynn asks, climbing off the bed and walking over to her dad and uncle.

"What?" Dean asks at the same time. He peers at Sam's phone. "What are these, coordinates? Who's it from?"

"I have no idea," Sam answers, looking the coordinates up on a map.

"Well?" Dean asks.

"Uh, Bristol, Rhode Island, where three women disappeared in the last week. Apparently, the, uh, victims seemed to vanish into thin air," Sam explains.

"Could be something. Who's the text from?" Dean asks.

"I don't know. It just kept ringing," Sam responds.

"What's that about?" Dean asks.

"Could be another hunter looking for backup, throwing us a case? Who knows how many hunters I even met, working with the Campbells, you know? But I think we should go," Sam answers.

"Whoa, wait. We're just gonna drop everything?" Dean asks.

"Dude, two minutes ago, you weren't doing anything," Sam argues.

"You got mysterious coordinates from a mysterious Mr. "X," leading to a mysterious town? That doesn't throw up red flags to you?" Dean counters. Gracilynn looks at the computer screen. She thought the town sounded familiar but she wasn't sure. She figured she had probably just saw it on a sign when she was on her school trip.

"I don't know. Maybe. But that doesn't mean we can just ignore a bunch of missing girls. Right?" Sam argues back.

"Okay. We'll check it out. But if things get squirrelly, we dump out, okay?" Dean says, caving in.

"Yeah," Sam says.

Dean pulls into a parking spot in front of a restaurant. He looks in the back seat and sees Gracilynn asleep against the door. Dean and Sam climb out of the car and Dean smirks, opening the back door. Gracilynn falls but jolts awake in time to catch herself. Dean chuckles and Gracilynn shoots him a glare, climbing out of the car.

"Better be careful there Gracie. Your bitch-face is gonna give Sammy a run for his money," Dean says, earning identical "bitch-faces" from his brother and daughter. Dean gives them a smirk and begins walking into the restaurant.

"I say we shave his head when he's sleeping," Sam says.

"Too loud. We'll put Nair in his shampoo," Gracilynn says. Sam chuckles, remembering when his brother had done that to him when they were younger.

"You're channeling your father again," Sam says, walking into the restaurant. Gracilynn gives Sam a curious look and follows after him. She stops when she notices what restaurant they're at. He gaze shoots over to her uncles' back.

"Crap," she says, hurrying to catch up to her dad and uncle.

"Well, freak's got a type…brunettes," Dean says, looking through missing persons leaflets. "Whoa. This one's got a little bit of a wild side. It's all in the eyes, Sam. See it?"

"Well, what kind of eyes did mom have?" Gracilynn asks.

"I'm not answering that question," Dean says.

"All right, well, aside from your little deep insight there, these women actually have nothing in common…different jobs, different friends, different everything. So, what's the connection?" Sam says.

"I don't know. Why don't you figure that out? I'm gonna go hit the poop deck," Dean says, heading to use the bathroom that's marked 'poop deck'.

"Uh…I'm gonna go use the bathroom too," Gracilynn says, getting up and going to the bathroom. She stops at the wall of pictures and quickly finds the one she's looking for. A door behind her opens.

"Gracie?" Dean asks, seeing his daughter standing in front of him. Gracilynn turns around and looks at her dad. Dean's eyes narrow. "What's wrong?"

"Um…I was here before," Gracilynn says.

"What? When?" Dean asks.

"When I was on that trip for school," Gracilynn answers.

"Wait, when we were at Lisa's?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," Gracilynn says.

"Okay," Dean says, not getting why Gracilynn is looking nervous.

"This was where I left the group to go to Bobby's," Gracilynn clarifies. Recognition dawns on Dean. Gracilynn turns around and points at a picture on the wall and Dean looks at it, seeing Sam and Samuel sitting at a table in the background.

"Dammit," he says. He rips it off the wall and walks out to the dining room, seeing a couple talking to Sam.

"Where's your partner? The big bald guy? Agent Wynand, right?" the woman says.

"Agent Wynand, of course. Well…" Sam begins, but Dean steps in and offers a story.

"Sex rehab. Yeah, you've heard of plushies, right?" Dean says, making a face.

"This is, uh…this is my new partner," Sam says, motioning towards Dean.

"Hi. Pleasure," Dean says, shaking the woman's hand, then shaking the man's, Don's, hand. "How you doing? Hi. Uh, so, Agent, we should, uh…"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," Sam says.

"Of course. Uh, nice chatting with you, Agent Roark," the woman says.

"You too," Sam says. The woman and her husband walk away, the woman touching Sam's shoulder. The woman looks back and gives Sam a look; Dean notices. Sam seems to space out for a minute.

"What was that? She just cougar-eyed you," Dean says, calling Sam out.

"I think Samuel and I have worked a case in this town," Sam admits. Dean shares a look with Gracilynn who has walked over to them.

"You think?" Dean says. Dean throws the Polaroid picture down on the table to show Sam. Sam looks at it and notices himself and Samuel in the background. "Come on. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Hey, come on. Hop to, would you?" Dean says to Sam, seeing he's not packing his bags like he and Gracilynn are.

"We can't go, Dean," Sam says firmly.

"Uh, yeah, we can," Dean argues.

"No, listen…five guys went missing a year ago. They never found the bodies. I mean, that's got to be the job me and Samuel worked, right?" Sam says.

"Great. What difference does it make?" Dean asks. Gracilynn has stopped packing and is now watching the interaction between Dean and Sam.

"A year ago, five guys go missing, and…and now suddenly all these women go missing. Something's here. So either we just didn't stop it, or we only thought we did," Sam explains.

"Okay, but why the gender bend, huh? First it's dudes. Now it's chicks? That's a totally different M.O," Dean points out.

"I don't know. Who knows? The point is, something's still here," Sam counters.

"Great. We'll call Bobby. He can deal with it," Dean says.

"Why? We can deal with it," Sam argues. Gracilynn bites her lip and looks over at her dad.

"Are you serious? Sam, there is a reason that hunters don't hit the same town over again…'cause we have a habit of leaving messes behind," Dean counters in turn.

"Right. I agree," Sam says.

"One of dad's rules…you never use the same crapper twice," Dean says. Gracilynn makes a face.

"Everyone uses the same crapper twice," Sam argues.

"Not us," Dean says. Sam gives him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Okay, look…this creature is still walking around 'cause of me, right? I mean, I let it go. Dad also said, 'you finish what you start.' Okay, I get it," Sam says in turn.

"Do you?" Dean asks.

"Yes. You're afraid I'll stroll down memory lane and I'll kick this wall in my head so hard, Hell comes flooding through, right? And then all of a sudden, I'm some drooling mess on the floor," Sam says. Dean glances at Gracilynn and sees her quickly cover up the worry in her eyes.

"It's not a joke," Dean says firmly, looking back at his brother.

"Okay. I know. But listen…what's happening here right now…it's because I messed up somehow, in some big way. So every person who gets taken, every person who dies…that's on me. I have to stop it. And you'd do the same thing," Sam counters.

"All right. I'll follow up with the brunettes. You two see what you get from the cops," Dean says, giving in.

Sam and Gracilynn are walking down the sidewalk towards the Sheriff's office. Sam had been grumpy since Dean had left and Gracilynn couldn't figure out why. She decided she wasn't going to put up with it anymore though and quickly stepped in front of her uncle, putting a hand on his chest and forcing him to stop. Sam gives her a confused look.

"What?" he asks, harsher than he intended.

"What's your problem?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" Sam replies.

"I mean, you've been grumpy ever since dad left to go figure out the brunettes," Gracilynn points out.

"It's nothing; don't worry about it," Sam says, skirting around her and beginning to walk away.

"Uncle Sammy?" Gracilynn asks, showing the full puppy dog eyes. Let's face it, between her dad and uncle, she learned all the tricks and she most definitely wasn't above using them. Sam stops and sighs, turning back around to face his niece.

"Not that I don't love having you around, but let's face it Smalls," Sam says, "Dean only sent you with me to babysit."

Gracilynn watches her uncle for a moment, figuring out what exactly she wants to say to this. She sighs.

"You're right. I am here to babysit you. We all know it," Gracilynn admits, seeing her uncle's jaw tighten. "But can you blame us."

Sam gives her a confused expression.

"Ya know, having soulless you wasn't a walk in the park for us," Gracilynn explains. "We never knew what you would do and we damn well couldn't trust you. And to top it all off, it was killing us every time you did something that wasn't you. You have no idea what it was like have someone who, not just looks like your uncle, your brother, but has his actual body. Which means if we were gonna save you, we couldn't hurt him. Having someone around that looks like him but doesn't have what makes you…you. Well, now we've got you back. But not without danger of you dying looming in the shadows 24/7. Knowing that even the slightest thing can send our whole worlds reeling and you leaving…again. We're not gonna take that chance. So sorry if us making sure you're safe and okay is cramping your style."

Sam studies his niece a moment. She had a point. And truthfully , he _couldn't_ blame them; he'd be doing the same thing if their roles were reversed. Sam sighs in defeat.

"Okay," Sam says. Gracilynn nods her head. "Let's go."

Sam turns around and walks towards the Sheriff's office. Gracilynn moves to follow but notices her boots are untied and she bends down to tie them.

"Hold it right there! Stop right there! Hands where I can see them!" Gracilynn's head whips up and she takes in the scene before her. The sheriff is holding a gun at her uncle, looking slightly…nervous? Sam has his hands up, not sure what is going on.

"Get in my car, or you're under arrest," Sheriff Atkins says.

"Son of a bitch," Gracilynn mutters as the sheriff puts Sam in the back of his car and drives off. "Great. Now what?"

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	6. Not A Big Deal

Have to say that the next five weeks of my life is going to be hell. Every week I'm going to have at least one season finale to have to watch and next week there's three of them, one of them being Supernatural. Which, by the way, not so sure I'm going to live through it However, on the bright side of things, the more season finales means the less shows I have to watch and the less show I have to watch means more time to write. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter.

"Sam what?" Dean asks over the phone.

"Got arrested," Gracilynn says again.

"Great," Dean says. "Hold on, I'll be there soon."

"Don't worry about it dad. I'll get him out," Gracilynn says.

"Oh really?" Dean says.

"Dad, I got this," Gracilynn says, trying to convince her dad to let her do this.

"Yeah, until you get arrested yourself," Dean argues.

"I'm not gonna get arrested dad," Gracilynn argues in turn.

"Gracilynn…" Dean says.

"Dad…" Gracilynn counters.

"Fine. But if anything, and I mean _anything_ goes even remotely not according to plan, you get out and you call me," Dean says.

"Okay, I promise. Scouts honor," Gracilynn says.

"Hey," Dean calls before Gracilynn hangs up.

"What?" Gracilynn asks.

"Don't get caught," Dean orders before hanging up his end of the line.

Gracilynn hangs up her phone and turns to look at the Sheriff's office. It was starting to get dark out so she figured it'd be best if she broke in under the cover of darkness. Gracilynn looks around but doesn't see anyone. She starts to make her move when she sees a pretty brunette enter the building. Before she realizes it, her breath has caught in her throat. She forces herself to take a deep breath and calm down.

"Not robo-Sam. He's gone. Nothing to worry about," Gracilynn says, remembering the last time a girl had confronted her uncle. He had ditched her to head back to their hotel room. Gracilynn waits, hoping the woman will leave soon so she could sneak in and get her uncle out of there.

Twenty minutes later and Gracilynn sighs in frustration. This was not going according to plan and no way was she going to call her dad over something so trivial. There's a sound and Gracilynn looks up to see her uncle quietly exit the Sheriff's office. She leaps to her feet and looks around, satisfied they were still in the clear. She runs silently across the street and meets up with her uncle.

"Hey," she says from behind Sam. Sam startles and swings around, hands up in a offensive posture.

"Are you trying to get hit?" he says, dropping his hands when he realizes it's his niece.

"How d'you get out?" Gracilynn asks.

"I had some help," Sam says, grabbing her arm and gently pulling her swiftly down the sidewalk, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"From who? That chick?" Gracilynn asks, following her uncle, not that she really had a choice, his hand still holding her arm.

"I'll tell ya later. Let's just get back to the room," Sam says, turning a corner.

Sam and Gracilynn hear someone approaching the door. Sam gives Gracilynn a look and he draws his gun and stands by the door, waiting. Gracilynn draws her own gun and waits as well. Dean opens the door and walks in. Gracilynn lowers her gun first and puts it away while Sam gives him a look before doing the same.

"Hey, Sam. So, how does it feel to be a fugitive again? Hate to say 'I told you so'," Dean says, giving Sam a look in turn.

"You love to say 'I told you so'," Sam points out. Dean seems to think about it a moment before commenting.

"Actually, you're right…I do love to say 'I told you so.' So, I found out something on, uh, 'crazy eyes McGee.' Turns out you two knew each other," Dean says as Gracilynn walks over to where her dad and uncle are standing.

"What?" Sam asks.

"Biblically. I just spoke to her roommate. I got to say, man…you really got around. I mean, soulless or not I'm actually kind of impressed," Dean says, looking proud of his brother. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, until fifteen years from now he realizes he has a daughter," Gracilynn points out.

"Come on, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Dean says, with a smirk.

"Oh really?" Gracilynn says.

"Yeah," Dean says as if it's obvious. "This way when Sammy's being a little Bitch I can pick on you instead."

Sam and Gracilynn give him a bitch face and whatever Gracilynn is about to counter back with is cut off by the police scanner coming to life.

"Eight Sierra Papa. Got a 1057, 1100 block of Hope Street. Over."

"Missing person…another one," Sam says.

"Okay, all right. We'll go. You stay," Dean says.

"Yeah. Fine," Sam says.

"Sam?" Dean calls, knowing Sam caved much too easily.

"What?" Sam responds.

"Stay here," Dean says firmly.

"Fine! Go!" Sam says, annoyed. Dean gives him a look and nods Gracilynn towards the door, the two of them exiting the room.

"Listen, thank you for your time. We're on it," Dean says to Don as the two of them and Gracilynn walk out the front door.

"Yeah. Thanks," Don replies, shutting the door behind the two hunters. Dean pulls out his phone and dials Sam's number, only to get his voicemail.

"Sam, answer the phone, damn it. I found the connection between the missing chicks. They all banged the same dude…You. It's you, Sam. The texts, the victims, all of it…it's a trap for you. Call me back," Dean says, hanging up the phone and putting it in his pocket, sharing a look with Gracilynn.

"You think he left the hotel room," Gracilynn states.

"No," Dean says. "I know he left the hotel room."

"I take it you know where he went?" Gracilynn says, following her dad to the Impala and climbing in.

"I have an idea," Dean answers as he climbs into the car and starts it up, taking off down the road.

"There he is," Gracilynn says as they pull up to Brenna's house. Dean shuts off the car and the two of them climb out and walk up to the porch. Sam's looking over at a spider web, transfixed. Dean, unnerved Sam doesn't hear them approaching, taps him on the shoulder. Sam spins around and level his gun.

"Whoa. Whoa," Dean says, moving to stand in front of Gracilynn.

"I almost shot you...Again. What the hell?" Sam asks, lowering his gun.

"I figured you'd come and talk to her. I told you to stay home, man. Did you get my message? Come on. We got to get you out of here. Let's go," Dean says, turning and gently pushing Gracilynn towards the vehicle. He looks behind him to make sure his brother is following them, which he is.

"Well we know that this is a monster with opposable thumbs and unlimited text messaging, and we know that it wants to kill you specifically. Does that about cover it?" Dean says.

"It's an Arachne," Sam states. Gracilynn makes a face.

"A what?" Dean asks.

"I remembered," Sam replies.

"You remembered? Y…I'm sorry. Uh, what else have you remembered?" Dean asks, not liking this bit of news.

"Don't worry, all right? I…it's nothing to do with Hell," Sam assures.

"Uh-huh. Not yet, anyway," Dean says, not missing the worried look on his daughter's face.

"What can I do, Dean? The stuff is just starting to come back, all right? Maybe it's natural," Sam points out.

"We're leaving," Dean announces.

"No, we can't," Sam argues.

"We are not the only hunters on the planet, okay? We can call Bobby. He and Rufus could come and wrap up," Dean says.

"How? Like you said, it could be anybody, we got jack for leads," Sam argues back.

"We know that it hates you," Dean says.

"I know who did this. I just…I can't remember," Sam replies.

"I don't think you get the risk here, Sam," Dean says.

"Yes, I do," Sam responds.

"Really? You get that every time you scratch that wall, that you are playing Russian roulette?" Dean says, starting to feel a little desperate.

"Dean, I get you're worried, okay? And I know what you think is gonna happen. But you know what? It will or it won't," Sam counters. Gracilynn's head whips around to her uncle.

"Sam…" Dean says.

"…look, I'm starting to think that…that I might have done some bad stuff here, Dean. And so I don't care if it's dangerous," Sam begins.

"So, naturally, let's walk right into the fire," Gracilynn snaps. Sam looks over at her and pursing his lips. His gaze shifts between the two of them.

"I have to set things right, 'cause I got a frigging soul now, and…and it won't let me just walk away. I'm staying here. And I need you two to back me up," Sam all but begs, pulling out the full-on puppy dog eyes. Dean sighs.

"All right. Why not? Well, let's "memento" this thing, shall we?" Dean says, standing up and beginning to pin all of the information they have on the case onto the wall. Sam and Gracilynn get up themselves and begin helping him. Gracilynn stops, remembering what Sam had said earlier.

"Wait a minute, what did you say this thing was? An Arachne?" Gracilynn asks. When she doesn't hear anything she looks over at Sam and sees he has spaced out. She looks over at her dad who has noticed the same thing. Sam seems to come to again and Dean jumps at the opportunity.

"You okay?" Dean asks. Sam spaces out a moment and Dean and Gracilynn share a look.

"I know what happened," Sam suddenly says, looking over at Dean and Gracilynn.

"What are you gonna say to Brenna?" Dean asks Sam after he finishes telling Dean and Gracilynn what he remembered.

"Relax, Dean," Sam says with his phone to his ear, waiting for Brenna to pick up. "Hey, Brenna, it's…it's Sam. I'm just checking in. Yeah, of course I can swing by. Okay. Yeah. Bye."

"What was that about?" Dean asks, curious.

"She wants me to swing by," Sam answers.

"For?" Dean asks.

"She said it's no big deal, but I can tell she's in deep trouble," Sam answers. Dean nods his head and they begin grabbing their stuff and head to the door.

"Ya know what, you two go on ahead. I…I'll s…stay here. Watch…our stuff," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam turn and look at her.

"What?" Dean asks. "Wait a minute. Any other time you're begging to come with us and now all of a sudden you want to stay behind?"

"I don't get it," Sam says, like Dean, knowing something else is up.

"You'll need back up if something goes wrong. You guys go hunt the Arachne…and…and I'll stay here," Gracilynn says. Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in Dean's head.

"Wait a minute. I know what's going on," Dean says with a smirk.

"You do?" Gracilynn and Sam ask at the same time.

"You got your little spider phobia. And look at that, we're hunting a human-sized spider," Dean says. Sam looks over at Gracilynn.

"Wait, you're afraid of spiders?" he asks.

"I…it's not that big of a deal. Dad's afraid of flying. And you're afraid of clowns," Gracilynn says defensively.

"Not a big deal? Good, let's go," Dean says, opening the door.

"Seriously?" Gracilynn whines.

"Hey, you wanna follow in my footsteps so bad, suck it up and let's go," Dean says, trying to hide a smirk as he walks out to the car. Sam sends his niece a sympathetic smile, knowing exactly how she feels.

"Wanna follow in my footsteps so bad, suck it up and let's go," Gracilynn mutters mockingly, grabbing her own stuff and all but stomping out the door. She climbs into the back seat of the Impala, giving her dad a glare which he returns with a cocky smirk.

"If the damn thing gets anywhere near me, I'm burning the whole damn block down to make sure I get it," Gracilynn says angrily, slumping in her seat and crossing her arms.

Dean looks in the rearview mirror as he back out of the parking space, noticing his daughter sulking.

"You should sulk more often. The look fits you. 'Sides, I wouldn't have to worry about any guys hitting on you," Dean says, pulling onto the street.

"Bite me," Gracilynn snaps, turning to stare out the window.

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	7. I'm Not Scared

Here's the next chapter…hope ya'll enjoy!

"Dean, back door," Sam whispers as the three hunters sneak through the back yard.

"Sam. Light's on in the shed. Gracie, your spidey senses tingling yet?" Dean says as they enter said shed.

"Sh," Sam says, having heard something.

"Sam?" Brenna asks from behind a box.

"Brenna? Hey," Sam says, walking closer to her.

"What you did to Roy...Is it true?" Brenna asks, not wanting to believe it. Roy suddenly attacks Dean and throws Gracilynn across the room into the opposite wall. Then, he attacks Sam and grabs him by the throat.

"Answer the question, Sam," Roy says.

Roy has trapped Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn in webbing. Dean looks over at his daughter, seeing she's on the verge of a panic attack.

"You all right?" Dean whispers.

"Do I look all right?" Gracilynn whispers back harshly.

"Just take a few deep breaths," Dean says calmly.

"I can feel them crawling on me," Gracilynn bites out.

"There aren't any spiders, just the web," Dean says.

"I know that," Gracilynn snaps. "I know it's all in my head. But it doesn't stop me from thinking they're there."

"You got to admit I look good, Sam. Well, except for your little souvenir," Roy says, bringing Dean and Gracilynn attention to him. Roy points to the scar on his forehead.

"You win. I'm here. Let Brenna go. This has nothing to do with her," Sam says.

"You come back around, start hanging out with my wife, and you think this has nothing to do with her? But then...you thought I was out of the way, right? I got to say, you get a hell of a lot wrong, Sam, like that thing you threw me to. You thought it was here to feed," Roy says.

"She was here to breed," Sam corrects.

"Yeah. That thing was playing the mating game, and I guess I fit her profile...Me and all those other poor bastards. She bit us to turn us into what she was. By the time you pulled that trigger, I wasn't human. Not anymore. So bullets didn't hurt me much. Oh, and neither did fire. So after you left, well, we ran. Me…I hid for months, nearly starved. But you know what kept me going? Every night, I dreamed about ripping your throat out. I thought I was sending you a neon sign. The text? Taking all those girls you screwed? I was kicking so much sand in your eye, I couldn't figure out why you weren't getting it! Then Bren tells me you've got brain damage. It's just too good," Roy explains. Dean is able to grasp a shard of glass and begins cutting at the webbing.

"Where are they, Roy...the women?" Sam asks.

"Scattered...In the wind. They're like me now. You killed one monster, you made so many more. Congratulations. The only question is, do I kill you...Or turn you?" Roy says. Dean cuts himself free of the webbing and attacks Roy.

"Ugh!" Dean shouts as Roy throws him and then picks him up by the throat.

"No! Roy, stop!" Brenna shouts. She picks up the knife on the floor and cuts Sam loose. Sam takes the knife from her and quickly cuts Roy's head off. Dean drops to the floor, panting for air. He looks up at his brother, sharing a look as they both breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Hello! Having a panic attack over here!" Gracilynn voice shouts at them. Dean and Sam share a look, each of them smirking.

Gracilynn smacks at her face and jolts around. Dean looks over with a smirk as she angrily shoves a stray hair out of her face. Gracilynn looks over at him and shoots him a bitch face.

"What?" she asks.

"You gonna be spazzing out all day?" Dean asks, looking up from the gun he's cleaning.

"Spiders dad. Spiders," Gracilynn says.

"Just sayin'. It'd be nice to know whether I should be expecting you to crawl in my bed or something," Dean says, earning him another scowl.

"I'm _not_ scared," Gracilynn says.

"Well, good. Then, you won't freak out when I tell you there's a spider hanging from the ceiling above you," Dean says.

"What?!" Gracilynn shouts, bolting off the bed and looking towards the ceiling. She hears a chuckle and looks over to see her dad laughing. "You're a jerk!"

Gracilynn grabs a pillow off the bed and chucks it at him, hitting him in the face, which only makes him laugh harder. Gracilynn huffs and disappears into the bathroom. Dean settles down and looks over at Sam sulking.

"You okay?" Dean asks. They had just gotten back from Brenna's. Sam tried to apologize but she just shut the door on him.

"You were right. We shouldn't have come back here," Sam answers without truly answering the question.

"Well, you did kill uh...spider man," Dean points out.

"So, you're suggesting what I did back there was a good thing?" Sam asks.

"I'm just saying…" Dean says. Gracilynn opens the bathroom door and walks back out, cluing in to the conversation.

"What?" Sam prods.

"Sam, y-y-you got to understand that all that crap last year …all of it…none of it was you," Dean says firmly.

"Let's be crystal clear, okay? It was me," Sam says just as firmly.

"Well, can I get you anything?" Dean asks, changing the subject.

"What are you now, my waitress?" Sam asks.

"I'm just trying to make you feel better. Don't be a bitch," Dean says, turning his attention back to the gun he's cleaning.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam says, walking into the next room.

"Yeah, you look fine. All I'm saying is everything's gonna be okay," Dean says, as much for Sam's conscious as for Gracilynn's.

"I don't know, Dean. If I did this here, then who knows how many oth…" Sam begins but stops. Gracilynn's eyes grow big as Sam drops to the floor and there is a thud. Dean catches the fear in her eyes and whips around and sees his brother lying on the floor.

"Sammy? Sammy?!" Dean says, putting the gun down and jumping out of his seat, making a rush to Sam's side. His eyes are open but they are unseeing. "Sammy, talk to me!"

"Dad?" Gracilynn asks. Dean can hear the fear in her voice; knows she's barely holding it together right now. Hell, _he_ was barely holding it together right now.

"Sam? Sam. S-sam? Oh, come on," Dean pleads to his brother as he shakes Sam more forcefully. "Sammy! Come on, come on. Come on, damn it."

Gracilynn stays rooted to the spot, eyes glued to the prone form of her uncle. After what seems like years, Sam's eyes finally open. He groans and exhales sharply and Dean visibly relaxes.

"Hey, hey, hey, you with me?" Dean asks, the only answer being a deep breath and another groan. "Come on. Come on, got to get you out of here."

Dean hauls Sam off the floor and onto his feet, earning a grunt from Sam. Dean looks over at Gracilynn, who has yet to move let alone take her eyes off her uncle.

"Gracie. Hey, come on baby," Dean says, trying to get her attention. Gracilynn's eyes flicker over to his. "Grab our stuff. We're leaving."

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	8. I Did You A Favor

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there! Hope your day was awesome!

Dean looks over at the beds where Sam and Gracilynn are sleeping. They had left Rhode Island quickly; Dean wanted to get as far away from there as possible. They had just finished a job dealing with ghost possessed mannequins, which according to Gracilynn those things were creepy without being possessed. Dean looks back over towards the beds. Sam had been off for a little while after his little episode but he seemed fine now. But Dean wasn't taking any chances; he was keeping a close eye on him anyways. Gracilynn stirs in her sleep and Dean's gaze shifts over to her. She had been having nightmares since Sam collapsed but she was refusing to talk about them. Dean sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. This whole deal was screwed up and it was beginning to take a toll on all of them. Dean hears Gracilynn's breath catch in her throat and he watches her for a minute. Not seeing her settle down, he stands up and makes his way over to her and shakes her shoulder.

"Gracie. Come on, wake up baby," Dean says, shaking her again, hearing her breath pick up. Gracilynn's eyes fling open and she takes in her surroundings. She sees her dad watching her worriedly and she quickly tries to get her breathing back under control.

"What time is it?" Gracilynn asks, sitting up.

"A little after eight," Dean says. Gracilynn looks over at her uncle's bed and sees he's still sleeping.

"He's been fine the whole night," Dean says, sensing her thoughts, his eyes never leaving her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Gracilynn says, throwing her covers off and climbing out of bed.

"You've been having nightmares a lot lately," Dean says.

"I fought up against a human sized spider and a creepy mannequin killing people. It's kinda expected," Gracilynn counters.

"It didn't start until after Sam's…thing," Dean points out.

"Which happened right after the spider hunt," Gracilynn points out in return. "Dad, I'm fine."

"Sure," Dean says, unbelievingly.

"I am. Why are you making such a big deal about this?" Gracilynn says.

"'Cause if you're gonna help me watch Sammy's back I need you to be on top of your game," Dean says.

"I'm fine. I am," Gracilynn says, then changing the subject, "What's for breakfast?"

"Uh, there's a store down the street we can grab something," Dean says, noticing the deflection.

"I'll go," Gracilynn says, grabbing her clothes, "Just let me get changed."

"I don't know…" Dean says, not liking the idea of letting her or Sam out of his sight right now.

"Dad, I'm almost eighteen. I think I can handle walking down the street and getting breakfast," Gracilynn says before disappearing into the bathroom.

Gracilynn walks into the store and heads straight for the donuts. She grabs a box and begins loading it with different kinds. Closing the box up, she walks over to the coffee counter and grabs three cups, filling them up and placing them in a carrier. Grabbing some cream and sugar and placing them in the middle of the carrier, Gracilynn makes her way up to the check-out counter.

"They just found another body this morning," an older man says to the cashier, a middle aged man.

"Did they really?" the cashier says, "That makes what? Five within the past three months?"

"Yeah. They can't figure out why either," the older man says. Gracilynn puts her donuts and coffee on the counter and smile at the two men.

"I don't understand it Jim," the cashier, Bob by his tag, says. "How do they fall? Everyone knows where that cliff is."

"Someone got hurt?" Gracilynn asks. Bob and Jim look over at her.

"Yeah, a young man was found at the bottom of Shadow Creek Cliff," Jim says. "Fell from the top."

"You said he was the fifth one?" Gracilynn asks as Bob rings up her purchases.

"Yeah. All of them the same. They fell off the cliff and were found at the bottom of it. It just doesn't make sense. That cliff is well known. There's signs all over warning people of it. I could see maybe one person but five within the past three months?" Jim answers.

"The cops'll figure it out Jim," Bob says giving Gracilynn the total. She hands Bob the money and gives the two men a smile as she grabs the food.

"Thanks," Gracilynn says walking out the store and down the street.

Gracilynn walks back into the motel room to see her dad and uncle sitting at the table. Sam is typing something into his computer as she sets the food and coffee on the table.

"I think something's going on here," Gracilynn says, walking over to her uncle and tapping him on the arm to tell him to move. Sam just raises an eyebrow and Gracilynn rolls her eyes. She moves his hands out of the way and takes a seat on his lap, beginning to type in the search engine herself.

"Really?" Sam asks, bitch face evident in his voice. Sam looks over at his brother for help but Dean just shrugs, taking a big bite out of his donut. Gracilynn finds the newspaper articles and pulls them up, feeling her uncle peer over her shoulder.

"So, within the last three months the cops have found five bodies at the bottom of Shadow Creek Cliff. Coroner's saying the injuries they sustained are conclusive with falling from the top," Gracilynn explains.

"Injuries they sustained are conclusive?" Dean asks with a smirk.

"I hear it all the time on the cop shows. Always wanted to say it," Gracilynn says.

"When do you watch cop shows?" Dean asks.

"When you're not around," Gracilynn answers.

"I'm always around," Dean counters.

"Not always," Gracilynn replies. "Anyways, cops can't understand it. Supposedly, Shadow Creek Cliff is well-known around here. Everyone knows where it is and there're signs all over warning people about it. So, they can't figure out how _five_ people could have fallen over the edge."

"It wouldn't hurt to check it out," Dean says, putting the last bite of his donut in his mouth.

"I'll go get dressed," Sam says, seeing Dean pull out another donut. Sam picks up Gracilynn and literally throws her onto one of the beds, earning a yelp from her. He grabs his suit and heads into the bathroom.

"You gonna come eat or are you just gonna sit there yelping like a puppy?" Dean says, taking a sip of his coffee. Gracilynn shoots him a glare before climbing off the bed and sitting at the table, grabbing her own coffee and donut. Dean stands up and as her walks past Gracilynn pats her on the head.

"Good job kiddo," he says. He grabs his own suit and goes into the bathroom as Sam walks out and heads to the table to grab his own food and coffee.

The three hunters walk into the coroner's office and make their way up to the desk where a young man about the age of twenty is.

"Hi. I'm Agent Scholz and this is Agent Delp. We're here to see the bodies from Shadow Creek Cliff," Dean says as he and Sam show their badges. Gracilynn sends the young man a flirtatious smile, which he returns.

"And you are?" he asks.

"Gracilynn Hashian," Gracilynn says. "I'm their intern."

"Jack Morgan," he says, checking Gracilynn out. Dean narrows his eyes at Jack but he doesn't notice.

"So, about those bodies," Dean says, a harshness to his tone.

"Right. I'll have to get Dr. O'Donahue," Jack says without taking his eyes off Gracilynn.

"Yeah, well, you wanna do that sometime this week," Dean says.

"Uh…yeah," Jack says, picking up the phone and talking to someone on the other end. Hanging up the phone, "You can go on in. Dr. O'Donahue's waiting for you."

"Thanks," Gracilynn says, giving him a look.

"Anytime," Jack returns. Gracilynn begins walking towards the door and Jack leans over slightly to check out her butt.

"Trust me you don't want any of that," Dean says. Jack looks over at him.

"What? Why?" he asks.

"Well, you see. She's kinda taken a vow of celibacy," Dean says. Sam has to walk away for fear of the kid seeing him laugh.

"Really?" Jack says, looking back over towards Gracilynn.

"Yeah," Dean says before following Sam and Gracilynn through the door.

"Agents," Dr. O'Donahue greets them as they walk over to the table he's standing at.

"Dr. O'Donahue?" Sam asks, receiving a nod from him. "What can you tell us about the bodies found out by Shadow Creek Cliff?"

"Well, they all have the same injuries, consistent with a fall from a high height. Multiple bones broken and damage done to several internal organs. Numerous bruises and contusions from hitting the rocks and brush. All of them had head wounds consistent with hitting the rocky ground below as well," the doctor says.

"Anything to suggest foul play?" Sam asks.

"Not that I see. If I didn't know these people, I'd say they jumped off," O'Donahue says. "It's a good thing they stopped the milling."

"The milling?" Dean asks.

"These men were working for the tree mill in town. They had been chopping trees down for the past three months. The company finally stopped all work until they could figure this mess out," the doctor explains.

"What company is this?" Gracilynn asks.

"Paxton Lumber Mill," Dr. O'Donahue says.

"Thanks Dr. O'Donahue. We appreciate your help," Sam says.

"Hey, anything to try to bring this to a close," O'Donahue says, showing them out the door. The three Winchesters walk back into the entrance room and towards the front door. Gracilynn gives Jack a smile.

"So, maybe I'll see ya around?" she says.

"Uh…yeah, maybe," Jack says, only giving her a half of a glance. Gracilynn furrows her eyebrows.

"Uh, okay, so thanks again," she says.

"Yep," Jack replies. Gracilynn catches up to her dad and uncle outside.

"Well, that was weird," Gracilynn mutters.

"What was?" Sam asks.

"Jack. He was totally into me before we went in to see the doctor and afterwards he wanted nothing to do with me," Gracilynn says. Sam chuckles and Gracilynn gives him a look. She grabs his arm and makes him stop. "What?"

"I don't know. It probly had something to do with Dean telling him you took a vow of celibacy," Sam says with a smile.

"What?! Seriously?!" Gracilynn yells. She turns to look at her dad, whose waiting for them at the Impala. "Dad!"

"Come on Gracie. If the guy was _really_ into you, it wouldn't matter whether you were celibate or not," Dean says as the three of them enter their motel room. "I did you a favor."

"No, you did _you_ a favor," Gracilynn says, throwing her jacket on the bed. "There's nothing wrong with a little flirting dad."

"Oh, he had a little more than flirting on his mind," Dean says. Gracilynn gives him a look. "It always starts out as flirting, then the next thing you know you got a kid."

"And that's just so horrible ain't it?" Gracilynn asks angrily, obviously talking about herself.

"Dean didn't mean it like that Gracilynn and you know it," Sam says. "You're the best thing that's happened to us and we wouldn't trade you for the world. We're just looking out for you."

"Yeah, well I can look out for myself. Especially when it comes to guys. Ya know, mom wasn't a saint. She did date other guys after you. I think I would know a sleezeball when I see one," Gracilynn says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks.

"Nothing," Gracilynn says, retreating to the bathroom.

"'The hell's that supposed to mean?" Dean turns to look at Sam.

"I think it means our innocent little girl isn't so innocent. And hasn't been for a long time," Sam says, staring at the bathroom door. Dean forces a swallow and looks back at the bathroom door himself.

Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	9. It's Always the Dad

Here's the next chapter! How about that finale?! Epic!

"Dude, I've got nothing," Dean says, closing the book he was looking at. He glances over at his daughter, her words from earlier echoing in his mind.

"I think I might have found something," Sam says. "Okay, so all of the victims worked for a lumber company. What if whatever is attacking them doesn't like the fact they're cutting down all the trees."

"So, what? Like a forest protector or something?" Gracilynn asks.

"Maybe," Sam says, typing something into his computer.

"That still doesn't explain how it's able to get these guys to fall off a cliff everyone knows about," Dean points out.

"What if it can hide it?" Gracilynn asks.

"Hide what? The cliff?" Dean asks, "That would take some serious mojo."

"Well, what could have that kind of mojo?" Gracilynn asks.

"A demon. An angel. A god," Dean says.

"Or something like a god," Sam says, gaining Dean and Gracilynn's attention. "Listen to this. The Watcher, or The Man in the Tree is god-like and inhabits the woods. He has a distasteful resentment for people who cause mass destruction in his woods. Any human who enters Watcher's woods will find himself lost as trees disappear and other trees appear where there were none before. The victim is thus doomed to spend the remainder of his days lost in the Watcher's woods. Most die of starvation and thirst but others run in despair and are led to fall off an unexpected cliff, directed there by the Watcher's manipulation of the forest."

"Sounds like our guy," Dean says.

"So, how do we kill him?" Gracilynn asks.

"You have to cut his heart out with a silver blade," Sam says.

"You wouldn't by any chance know where we can find this Watcher?" Dean asks.

"My guess? A tree house," Sam says.

"Really?" Dean asks.

"The Watcher is also called The Man in the Tree so maybe he's called that because he's literally _in the tree_," Sam says.

"Makes sense," Gracilynn says.

"All right then. Let's get going," Dean says.

The three Winchesters walk through the woods where the lumber company had been working. They were hoping the Watcher was in this area. Gracilynn looks up in the trees for any sign of a fort or house; something that would let them know the Watcher was there.

"Ya know, I always wanted a tree house," she says off-handedly. Dean and Sam look over at her.

"Really?" Dean asks.

"Well, yeah. It seemed like all the kids in the movies had them," Gracilynn says.

"Your mom didn't get you one?" Dean asks.

"Are you kidding? She was as good with a hammer and nails as she was with a wrench and engine," Gracilynn answers.

"None of her boyfriends would do it?" Dean says. Sam shoots him a look. "What?" Dean mouths at him. Gracilynn snorts.

"No," she says. "Well…one of them was going to…but I wouldn't let him."

"Why not?" Dean asks. "If you wanted one so bad, you should've let him."

"It's never the mom's boyfriend that builds it," Gracilynn says.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks.

"Name one movie where the mom's boyfriend builds the tree house," Gracilynn says, turning to look at her dad and uncle.

"Uh…" Dean says, not thinking of any.

"Exactly. It's always the dad," Gracilynn says, turning away and continuing through the woods. Dean looks over at his brother and they share a look.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dean asks Sam. Sam had started walking away from them in a different direction.

"Just over here Dean," Sam says, annoyed. "I'll only be a few yards away. It's not like anything's gonna…"

Sam is cut off by a yell and Dean and Gracilynn's heads whip around to see Sam disappear. Gracilynn's eyes grow big and he and her dad begin running towards where they last seen her uncle.

"Uncle Sam!"

"Sammy!"

Dean jolts to a stop when he nears the ravine, grabbing Gracilynn's arm to stop her before she gets too close. The ground had given away and had sent Sam to the bottom. Dean and Gracilynn inch forward and look down, seeing Sam lying on the ground.

"Sammy?!" Dean yells. He sees his brother stir and begin to slowly roll over to his hands and knees. Dean looks behind him, trying to find anything that can help them. Gracilynn follows his gaze.

"Rope?" she asks.

"We got any?" Dean asks.

"I think Uncle Sam does. In _his_ bag," Gracilynn says.

"Which is down there. Awesome," Dean says, looking back down the ravine. "'The hell?!"

Gracilynn looks over at her dad, seeing the confusion on his face. She looks down in the ravine and her own confusion is evident on her own face. There are trees everywhere, and Sam is nowhere to be seen.

"I'll only be a few yards away. It's not like anything's gonna…"

Sam feels the ground beneath him give away and the next thing he knows, he freefalling. That is, until he hits the dirt and starts rolling down the steep ravine hill. Sam hit a tree and comes to a stop, groaning at the pain lacing his body.

"Uncle Sam!"

"Sammy!"

Sam hears his brother and niece scream his name. Sam tries to get his breath back and when he does, takes stock of his injuries. He was lucky, other than being incredibly sore and have some bruising, he seemed fine.

"Sammy?!" Sam shifts at hearing his brothers' voice from above him. He pries open his eyes and notices Dean and Gracilynn leaning over the side of the ravine. Sam rolls over onto his stomach and gets to his hands and knees. _Yep, definitely gonna be sore for a few days_ Sam thinks feeling his body object to his movement. Sam pushes himself to his feet and stands up, turning around and looking back up at the edge of the ravine.

"'The hell?" Sam says, not seeing the ravine anymore but instead a bunch of trees surrounding him. He does a quick circle, thinking maybe he was facing the wrong direction but quickly reveals there isn't a ravine anywhere. "Great."

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean yells. They had just made it down the steep ravine and they didn't see Sam anywhere. Gracilynn does a 360 turn, but nothing catches her eye.

"He should be able to hear us right?" Gracilynn asks her dad. When she doesn't get a response, she turns around to face him. Dean's rubbing a hand through his hair and desperately looking around the woods surrounding them. "Dad?"

"Huh?" Dean asks, turning to look at his daughter.

"Uncle Sam. He should be able to hear us right?" Gracilynn asks.

"Uh…yeah, he should. But…" Dean says, looking around the woods again. "If he's not here…"

"Why wouldn't he be here?"

"If the Watcher did his thing…" Dean answers.

"Yeah, but Uncle Sam didn't chop down any trees or anything. And he leads the victims to the cliff, he doesn't make them up and disappear," Gracilynn argues.

"Yeah, but none of the other victims were trying to kill him either," Dean points out, "Just…just stay next to me okay?"

Before Gracilynn can argue, Dean begins walking deeper into the woods, away from the ravine. Gracilynn looks around once more and then hurries to catch up to her dad, making sure to keep an eye out for any tree houses.

"Dean! Gracilynn!" Sam yells. He had been walking around these woods for a good half an hour yelling for his brother and niece, hoping they'd hear him. But Winchester luck prevails and neither one of them have answered his calls. He even tried calling them on his phone but he wasn't getting any service out here. Sam sighs and continues walking. He wasn't sure if the Watcher was after him or his brother or his niece, but he wasn't going to stand by hoping his family was okay. He needed to find them and make sure for himself.

Gracilynn takes out her cell phone and looks at the screen. Letting out a curse she shoves it back in her pocket.

"Still no signal?" Dean asks.

"No," Gracilynn says. They had been searching for her uncle for a half an hour and haven't found a trace of him; they haven't found a trace of this Watcher either. On top of that, her dad was getting more worried by the minute. And she couldn't blame him. The longer Sam was out here wandering around, the more chance of him getting led right over Shadow Creek Cliff.

"Sammy!" Dean yells again. Gracilynn bites her lip at the desperation underlying her dad's tone.

"We'll find him dad," Gracilynn assures.

"We don't even know where he is. He's just gone. Hell, we don't even know if this Watcher freak is messing with us too," Dean yells out in frustration.

"We'll figure this out. We'll find him. 'Cause that's what we do," Gracilynn says, coming to the top of the hill they were walking up.

"I hope…" Dean begins, but Gracilynn cuts him off.

"Dad," she says. Dean looks over and looks to where she's pointing. About ten yards away, near the top of one of the trees, sits a tree house.

"Son of a Bitch," Dean mutters. "Let's go."

Dean and Gracilynn sneak up to the tree with the house in it, staring up into the branches.

"All right, help me up," Gracilynn says, not being able to reach the bottom branch.

"Gracilynn," Dean warns.

"Dad, the sooner we kill this douchebag, the sooner we can get to Uncle Sam," Gracilynn says.

"Fine," Dean says, cupping his hands and bracing himself. Gracilynn steps into them and hangs onto the tree for balance. Dean lifts her up and Gracilynn grabs the bottom branch. She pulls herself up with some help from her dad. Gracilynn turns around and looks down at her dad.

"You good?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," Gracilynn says. Her head whips up when she thinks she hears a shout.

"What? What is it?" Dean asks, instantly on alert and looks around the woods. Gracilynn scans the landscape and thinks she sees something. She stands up on the branch and climbs a little higher to get a better look. "Gracie."

Gracilynn sees what she notices and her eyes grow wide. There is another yell and Gracilynn looks down at her dad. He hears it this time and he is looking around the woods. Gracilynn climbs back down to the bottom branch.

"Dad," she whispers. "That sounds like…"

"Dean!" Gracilynn and Dean's heads whip to the right and they listen carefully.

"Sam," Dean whispers.

"Dad," Gracilynn silently calls her dad. Dean looks up at her. "Does it sound like it's coming from over there?"

Dean looks over in the direction his daughter is pointing and they hear Sam call once again.

"Gracilynn! Dean!"

"Dad," Gracilynn quietly says, getting her dad's attention. Dean looks back up at his daughter. "I saw the cliff over in that direction."

"What?" Dean asks, panic starting to rise in him and his heads turns quickly towards the direction he heard his brothers' voice and Shadow Creek Cliff.

"Dad, if Uncle Sam…" Gracilynn says, worry evident in her voice.

"All right, come back down. We're going to get him," Dean says, holding his arms up to help his daughter down from the branch. Gracilynn doesn't move. She looks up towards the treehouse and then back at her dad. "Gracilynn. Now."

"Dad, we gotta kill this bastard. What's to say that he won't come after all of us if we both go after Uncle Sammy," Gracilynn points out.

"So, what? You're just gonna go after Sam?" Dean asks, not liking this idea.

"Actually, I was thinking you go after Uncle Sam and I'll go after the Watcher," Gracilynn corrects.

"No. No way," Dean says, not liking this idea more.

"Well, I'm not coming down. And if you go up, I'll just follow you. Then who's gonna help Uncle Sam?" Gracilynn says, digging her heels in. Dean's jaw tightens as he tries to find another way out of this mess.

"Dean!" Sam voice comes through the woods.

"Dammit," Dean mutters. He looks up at his daughter and points a finger at her. "Anything goes wrong, you get outta there. Here, take my knife as well."

Gracilynn takes her dad's knife he's holding out to her and places it in her other boot, her own being in her right one.

"Go get Uncle Sam," Gracilynn whispers and begins climbing up the tree. Dean watches her climb for a minute, hoping he's not making a mistake. Another shout from his brother spurs him into motion and he quickly, and quietly, takes off towards the direction he hears his brothers' voice.

Please review and let me know what ya'll think! I've got a karate tournament tomorrow so wish me luck!


	10. She's Hiding Something

Hey guys! Sorry for this late update. I've been dealing with a lot of crap with my car. What I really need is a 6'2" green eyed guy in a leather jacket driving a '67 Impala to come by and fix it for me. But I guess we all know this is never going to happen so I have to deal with normal mechanics fixing it for me (only he didn't seem to fix the problem). Argh! Anyways, here's the next chapter!

Gracilynn grabs the limb above her and begins climbing up the tree. As she reaches the tree house, she makes sure she is extra quiet, not wanting to alert the Watcher. Pulling herself up onto a branch, she notices a ladder leading up to the landing of the house. She slowly climbs up it and onto the landing sneaking her way over to the door, which is only covered by a cloth. She presses her body up against the wall and peers inside the house through the window.

A man is standing at a fireplace, cooking something, his back to the door. Gracilynn pulls out her knife and carefully moves the blanket out of the way, sneaking into the room. She quietly makes her way towards the Watcher, ready for a fight. She takes a step and the floor creaks. Gracilynn freezes, making an 'oh, shit' face. The Watcher freezes himself, listening but not turning his back just yet. Gracilynn holds her breath, but Winchester luck wasn't changing today and the Watcher turns around.

Before he can react, Gracilynn charges him, taking him to the floor. She raises the knife, intent on stabbing him in the heart but the Watcher blocks it and flips her off. Gracilynn crashes into a chair and falls to the floor. The Watcher quickly jumps on top of her and punches her in the face. He goes to hit her again, but she blocks it and swings the knife, slicing the Watcher across the chest. The Watcher lets out a yell, and hits her out of rage. Gracilynn feels blood trickle out of her nose and she knows her lip is cut. As the Watcher goes to hit her again, Gracilynn stabs at his heart once again. This time, the Watcher blocks the attack and knocks the knife out of her hand. He grabs her neck with both hands and begins choking her. Gracilynn tries loosening the hold but to no avail. Mustering up all of her strength, she pops her hips up, balancing on her feet and shoulders and flips the Watcher over, putting her on top this time. As she does this, she reaches down and grabs her dad's blade and stabs the Watcher in the heart just as the come to a stop. The watcher lets out an inhumane yell and Gracilynn twists the knife.

The Watcher begins trying to get her off him and she punches him a few times in the face, giving her enough time to grab a broken piece of wood from when he sent her into it and hitting the Watcher across the face, knocking him unconscious. Gracilynn takes a couple deep breaths and looks over at the piece of wood in her hand; a broken chair leg. Gracilynn lets out a breath and drops the leg.

She looks back down at the unconscious Watcher, knowing the only way to kill him is to cut his heart out. She makes a face, but grabs the knife and begins cutting. Before she knows it, the heart is cut free. Making another face, she grabs it and lifts it out of the Watcher's chest.

"Yum," Gracilynn says, grossed out and making a face. To be on the safe side, she decides to burn it. Putting it on the floor of the tree house, Gracilynn pulls out her lighter and sets it on fire. As the fire comes to a smolder, she lets out a relieved breath, only to have panic fill her once again at the next sound.

"Sammy!" Gracilynn's head whips around. That was her dad's voice. Gracilynn quickly grabs both hers and her dad's knives and exits the tree house quickly. As fast as she can, without falling, she climbs back down the tree. As she reaches the bottom branch she jumps down and runs at a full sprint towards where she saw her father go, hoping she wasn't going to have one less family member in her life.

Dean quickly skirts around trees in hopes of finding his brother. He also hoped his daughter was going to be fine; he hated leaving her behind, especially to take care of the douchehat herself.

"Dean! Gracilynn!" Sam's voice calls out. Dean stops and looks around, his brothers' voice sounds closer. Dean waits and listens, hoping to get some sense of which direction his brother is in. "Dean!"

Dean's head turns to his right and he quickly takes off in that direction. He sees a clearing up ahead and begins to slow down slightly, not knowing what he will encounter there. As he enters the clearing, he notices two things. One, Shadow Creek Cliff being a few yards away and two, his brother being only a few feet from that.

"Sam!" Dean yells loud enough for his brother to hear. Sam tenses and looks around. In fact his gaze skirts right over him. "What the hell? How can he not see me?"

Dean begins to make his way towards his brother trying to figure out what the hell is going on. They were in a clearing; he should be able to see him. Hell, Sam should be able to see the cliff, unless… Dean watches as Sam maneuvers around nothing.

"Sam!?" Dean calls again. The Watcher must be messing with what Sam is seeing. "Sam!"

Sam turns around, and a relieved grin spreads on his face as he finally notices Dean. But it doesn't last for long because suddenly, his foot missteps and Dean watches in horror as Sam begins falling over the edge.

"Sammy!"

"Dean! Gracilynn!" Sam yells as he walks through the woods. He looks around, hoping to spot any sign of his brother or niece. He sighs in frustration when he doesn't see anything, doesn't hear anything. "Dean!"

Sam continues walking through the woods, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and an ear out for Dean and Gracilynn.

"Sam!" Sam tenses and looks around him, but doesn't see any sign of his brother. He spins in a circle, but still doesn't see him. Sam begins walking, maneuvering around a couple trees in his path.

"Sam!?" Sam stops, looking to his right. There was no doubt about it, that was definitely Dean's voice. Suddenly, the trees all around him beginning fading out. Sam narrows his eyes, but his brother's voice shifts his attention. "Sam!"

Sam turns around to find himself in a clearing and in the middle of the clearing a yard away was his brother. A relieved smile spreads on Sam's face, glad his brother is okay. He shifts and suddenly the ground beneath his foot isn't there anymore. Sam feels himself fall and his eyes grow wide, realizing too late his was at the edge of Shadow Creek Cliff.

"Sammy!" Dean's voice yells. Sam flails his arms, hoping to grab onto anything. Unexpectedly, a hand grasps his own and his decent stops abruptly. Sam looks up to see Dean hanging onto to him for dear life.

"Dean!?" Sam yells, fear evident in his voice.

"I got you Sammy," Dean says. "I got you."

Gracilynn plows through the trees, running as fast as she can. She sees a clearing up ahead and sprints the rest of the way, coming to a stop as she enters it. There is front of her, a few yards away at the edge of Shadow Creek Cliff, lies her father. He's hanging over the edge, grasping something, most likely her uncle.

"Dad! Uncle Sam!" Gracilynn calls out. She rushes over to her dad's side and looks over the cliff to see her dad hanging onto one of her uncle's hands. "Uncle Sammy, grab my hand."

Gracilynn reaches down and Sam reaches his other hand up. Gracilynn grabs it with both of her hands and she and Dean begin pulling Sam back up over the ledge and onto ground once again.

"You okay?" Dean asks Sam, even as he checks over his little brother.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Sam answers. Dean looks over at his daughter and his eyes grow wide.

"You're bleeding," Dean says.

"Yeah, the asshat got a couple punches…" Gracilynn begins but stops as her dad grabs at her shirt. She looks down and sees the bottom half of her shirt is covered in blood. "It's not mine."

Dean looks up at her, feeling a sense of déjà vu and tries to quell the rising sensation to say 'Christo'. Sam picks up on this, knowing exactly what his brother is thinking back to.

"You're sure?" Dean asks. Gracilynn nods her head.

"Yeah. It might come as a surprise but cutting someone's heart out tends to get messy," Gracilynn says.

"You killed the Watcher?" Sam asks as Dean stands up and reaches a hand out to him for help. Sam takes it and comes to a standing position, followed by Gracilynn.

"Yeah. I even burnt the heart just in case," Gracilynn says, taken by surprise when her dad grabs her chin and begins to inspect her facial injuries. "Dad, its fine."

"We'll see about that when we get back to the motel," Dean replies.

Gracilynn looks up from her spot on the bed at the sound of the motel door opening. Sam walks in holding an ice pack in his hands.

"Will you stop moving," Dean says, trying to get all the blood off her face to get a better look at her nose and lip. He hits a particularly sore spot and Gracilynn hisses, jerking backwards. Dean drops his hand and gives her a look.

"Ya know, I can do this myself," Gracilynn says, irritated.

"It's faster this way. I can check it out as I'm cleaning," Dean says just as irritated.

"Then stop jabbing at my nose," Gracilynn counters.

"I'm not jabbing at your nose. If I was jabbing at your nose…" Dean begins to argue.

"Dean. Here," Sam interrupts, shoving the ice pack in front of his brother. Dean drops the argument and takes the ice pack from his brother.

"It doesn't look broken or anything, but it'll be sore for a while," Dean says to Gracilynn, placing the ice pack on her already bruising nose.

"I could've told you that," Gracilynn says, grabbing the ice pack before it falls and holding it to her nose.

"Humor me," Dean says, throwing the washcloth in the garbage. He shares a look with Sam and Sam takes a seat next to him on the bed, the two of them facing Gracilynn. She eyes them carefully.

"What?" she asks, her voice muffled from the ice pack. Dean takes a deep breath.

"So…" he says. Gracilynn bites her lip then winces forgetting it was split open. She looks over at her dad and uncle, pretty sure she knew what they wanted to talk to her about. When Gracilynn doesn't say anything, Dean continues. "You wanna tell what you meant earlier about your mom's boyfriends?"

"No, not really," Gracilynn says, looking anywhere but at her dad and uncle.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. What did you mean earlier about your mom's boyfriends?" Dean says.

"It's no big deal. She went through a rough patch when it came to guys. She got outta it and everything was fine," Gracilynn says nonchalantly.

"What do you mean 'rough patch'?" Sam asks, giving her the puppy eyes without even realizing it.

"Really? I gotta spell it out for you guys?" Gracilynn says, starting to get annoyed. "They were dicks. Enough said. She finally realized she could do better and started going for the nice guys."

"Why are you getting so defensive?" Dean asks.

"I'm not," Gracilynn says harshly.

"No, you are," Sam counters back.

"Gee, I don't know maybe because you're both interrogating me," Gracilynn says angrily, standing up from the bed and walking off to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Well…that went smooth," Dean says, looking over at his brother. Sam stares at the bathroom door.

"She's hiding something," he says, without looking away.

"Ya think?" Dean asks. Sam looks over at his brother and the two of them share a look.

Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	11. She'll Talk When She's Ready

Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry I haven't been updating all that much. With ALL of my shows done for the year I've been watching Fringe on Netflix (a show I've been wanting to watch for a while). And I have fallen in love with it and can't seem to stop watching it. (I have watched all of Seasons 1 & 2 in a week ) So, I blame the creator of Fringe for my absenteeism. So, without further ado, enjoy!

"So, what's goin' on?" Bobby asks Dean and Sam as he walks up to where they are next to the Impala. They had gotten to Bobby's that morning and only after twenty minutes, Bobby knew something was up.

"Where's Gracilynn?" Dean asks.

"Inside. Blasting some rock music of yours in her room," Bobby says. Dean nods his head. "So?"

"She's hiding something," Dean says, looking up at Bobby. Bobby doesn't look surprised.

"And that surprises you?" he asks. "You guys hide more secrets than anyone else I know."

"Really Bobby?" Dean says, perturbed at the accusation.

"I didn't say that it was a bad thing. You guys don't keep secrets to keep them. You keep them to try to protect each other," Bobby explains.

"So what? You're saying Gracilynn's keeping this secret to protect us?" Sam asks.

"Protect us from what?" Dean asks.

"What makes you think she's keeping a secret?" Bobby asks.

"A few days ago she made a comment. Said that she could look after herself, especially when it came to guys. Said that her mom dated other guys before her and that she 'would know a sleezeball when she sees one'," Dean says.

"And when we tried asking her about it, she got really angry and stormed off," Sam says.

"A'right, let's say something happened," Bobby says, "She prolly buried it deep down and hasn't faced it since then. Think about it. Why didn't you talk about hell?"

"I…" Dean answers, not sure how to answer the question.

"Because you felt ashamed…" Bobby begins.

"Not that he should," Sam puts in, earning a look from his brother.

"True," Bobby agrees, then continues. "You felt ashamed…and you didn't want to burden Sam with what happened. It was done and over with and you didn't want him blaming himself for it."

"So, you think Gracie feels the same way?" Dean asks.

"She's a Winchester, of course she feels the same way," Bobby says.

"So, what do we do?" Sam asks.

"Give her time. She'll talk when she's ready," Bobby says, patting each of the boys on the back before disappearing back into the house.

"Where's Bobby?" Sam asks, walking into the library.

"In town, supply run," Dean answers.

"In this?" Sam asks, looking out the window and the torrential downpour.

"Yeah, man's a hero. We were officially out of hunter's helper," Dean answers, gesturing at an empty liquor bottle.

"Yeah, can't live without that," Gracilynn says sarcastically, smirking at her dad.

"Hello, boys. You've seen 'the Godfather', right?" Balthazar's voice interrupts Dean retort. The three Winchesters turn to see him standing next to them.

"Balthazar..." Dean says.

"You know, the end, where Michael Corleone sends his men to kill his enemies in one big, bloody swoop?" Balthazar continues. He finds a container of salt and pours it into a bowl on Bobby's desk.

"Hey!" Dean shouts as Balthazar begins searching around the room.

"'Dead sea brine.' Good, good, good. You know, Moe Greene gets it in the eye, and Don Cuneo gets it in the revolving door?" Balthazar says, ignoring Dean's outburst as he continues to busily run around the room.

"I said 'hey'," Dean says again, more firmly.

"You did. Twice. Good for you. Blood of lamb. Blood of lamb," Balthazar says, searching through Bobby's fridge. "Beer, cold pizza. Blood of lamb. Yes! Blood of lamb!"

"Why are you talking about 'the Godfather'?" Sam asks.

"Because we're in it…right now, tonight. And in the role of Michael Corleone…The archangel Raphael," Balthazar explains.

"You mind telling us what you mean?" Dean asks.

"I think he means we're being hunted by the mob," Gracilynn says.

"No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no," Balthazar mutters as he empties the contents of Bobby's drawers. "Yes. Bone of a lesser saint. This vertebra will do very nicely. Your Mr. Singer does keep a beautiful pantry."

"Wait, Raphael is after you?" Dean asks, just catching on.

"Raphael is after us all. You see, he's consolidated his strength. And now he's on the move," Balthazar explains.

"And where's Cass?" Sam asks.

"Oh, Cassie? He is deep, deep underground. So, good old Raffy put out a hit list on every last samaritan who helped our dear Cass…Including both of you. And so much more importantly, me. See, he wants to draw Cass out in the open," Balthazar answers.

"And you expect us to just believe you?" Sam asks.

"Oh, don't. You'll go where I throw you either way," Balthazar says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks defensively. Lightning flashes outside and Gracilynn looks out the window, a pit forming in her stomach.

"That's all the time we have, gentlemen. And lady," Balthazar says. He opens his jacket to reveal a bloodstain on his side. "Where is it?"

"Whoa. What happened there?" Dean says, noticing the blood.

"Oh. Garish, I know. You see, uncle Raffy sent one of his nastiest to handle me. I'm flattered, actually. And down a lung at the moment, but that's all right," Balthazar says. He pulls out a pair of keys and hands them to Sam. "Oh, here's for you."

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Sam asks, taking the keys from Balthazar.

"Run with it," Balthazar says right before he's thrown across the room as an angel appears in the room. "Virgil."

Balthazar looks over at the Winchesters, shouting out an order.

"I said, run!" Balthazar pushes the three of them through the window which is marked with a blood sigil. Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn crash through Bobby's window and land on a mattress, finding themselves on a TV show set.

"Cut!" the director, Bob Singer says.

"Real good solid fall. Way to go," a crew member says to Dean as he pats Dean on the butt.

"Jared, Jensen, Sophia! Outstanding! That was just great!" Bob Singer shouts to them. The three hunters look over at him, eyes wide, not sure what is happening.

"'Supernatural,' scene one echo, take one. Tail slate. Marker!" a crew member yells. Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn look at each other.

"Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore," Gracilynn says.

"So...No angels?" Sam asks.

"No angels…I think," Dean answers, eyeing the crowd before them.

"But that was great!" Bob Singers shouts off on the side to a crew member.

"...it's not a problem with the stunt. It's a problem with the...signal," Serge replies.

"Should we be killing anybody?" Sam asks.

"Interference," Serge says to Bob Singer.

"I don't think so," Dean says, not entirely sure himself.

"Well, how much did we get?" Bob asks.

"Running?" Sam asks his brother.

"About half," Kevin answers Bob.

"Where?" Dean asks his brother in turn.

"Gets us right up to where they…Just before they hit the window," Kevin explains.

"You know, the part where they hit the window is the good part," Bob says.

"Well, we can clean up, reset the window, takes about 95 minutes, basically. So, we'd have to blow off the scene where they sit on the impala and talk about their feelings," Kevin offers. Gracilynn picks up a piece of the window and wiggles it in front of them; it seems to be made out o some sort of gel.

"It reminds me of breast implants," she says. Sam rolls his eyes and Dean snorts.

"Ha. Right. You answer the hate mail," Bob replies to Kevin.

"Or we could have them fly at the window, then freeze frame. Then cut to black, act out," Kevin says, offering another solution.

"Freeze frame," Singer says.

"Um...Yeah. Freeze frame," Kevin replies.

"Serviceable," Serge puts in.

"Fine. Whatever. Season six. Moving on," Bob replies.

"Moving on! That's a wrap on Jared, Jensen and Sophia!" Kevin yells.

"W-who the hell are…" Sam begins but is interrupted by an interviewer.

"Jared! Three minutes, okay? Great," the interviewer says, grabbing Sam by the arm and leading him away.

"Where are we going?" Dean asks, grabbing Gracilynn and beginning to walk after Sam. One of the make-up artists steps in front of them though.

"Jensen, there you are! Let's just get you in the chair," she says.

"Chair?" Dean asks, confused. The make-up artist leads Dean away and he looks back in time to see a woman approach his daughter.

"Sophia! We have to fix your hair," a woman says, approaching Gracilynn. Gracilynn looks over at her, confused.

"What?" she asks. She doesn't get an answer though, aside from the woman leading her off in another direction. The woman sits her in a chair and begins fixing her hair. Another woman walks over and puts a bottle of water down in front of her, looking nervous.

"I'm sorry Sophia. They ran out of the water you like. This was all they had left," the woman says. Gracilynn eyes the water bottle.

"Uh…okay. That's fine," Gracilynn says, not sure what to say to the woman. She looks over and sees shock written plainly on the woman's face. "Thanks?"

The woman studies her for a minute before shaking out of her shock and walking away muttering something under her breath.

Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	12. It's All Fake!

Before you read this chapter, just want to say that any portrayal of AnnaSophia Robb (the actress I'm using to portray Gracilynn in this episode) is not true. Just as the writers made fun of actors and actresses through Jensen and Jared, I am doing the same through her, playing on stereotypes and so forth. I figure all of you know this, but wanted something in writing to cover my own butt

Gracilynn gives the woman a forced smile and hops off the chair she'd been in for a while. Before they can stop her for anything else, she scurries away. She looks behind her as she rounds a corner to make sure they didn't follow her only to run into someone. Gracilynn stumbles back and trips over her own two feet landing on her butt. She hears a snort and looks up to see her dad looking down at her. Gracilynn scowls earning another humorous snort from her father. Dean holds out a hand and Gracilynn takes it, letting her dad pull her up.

"Come on, let's find Sam," Dean says, leading Gracilynn to their left. As they do, they see Sam walking towards them and the three of them meet in the middle.

"Hey," Sam says.

"Dude, they put freakin' makeup on us! Those bastards!" Dean announces, perturbed at the very idea, making Gracilynn chuckle.

"Look, I think I know what this is," Sam declares.

"Okay. What?" Dean asks.

"It's a TV show," Sam answers.

"Wait, like we're on the set?" Gracilynn asks.

"You think?" Dean asks at the same time.

"Yeah," Sam answers both questions. "I mean, here, wherever 'here' is, this, this twilight zone Balthazar zapped us into. For whatever reason, our life is a TV show."

"Why?" Gracilynn asks.

"I don't know," Sam answers.

"No, seriously. Why? Why would anybody want to watch our lives?" Dean asks, supporting Gracilynn's question.

"Well, I mean, according to that interviewer, not very many people do. Look, I'm not saying it makes sense. I'm just saying, we…we landed in some dimension where you're Jensen Ackles, Gracilynn's AnnaSophia Robb and I'm something called a 'Jared Padalecki'," Sam explains.

"So what, now you're polish? Is any of this making any sense to you?" Dean asks as they exit the stage. They notice the Impala sitting in front of them. "Oh, hey. Least my baby made it."

"Ah…dad," Gracilynn trying to get her dad's attention right before a crew member begins throwing dirt on the car.

"Hey. Hey! What…" Dean begins but then notices three more Impalas sitting nearby. "I feel sick. I'm gonna be sick. I want to go home. I feel like this whole place is bad-touching me."

"Yeah, I know. Me too. So, what do you think? Cas?" Sam agrees.

"He's our best shot, if he's still alive. Dear Castiel, who art maybe running his ass away from heaven, we pray that you have your ears on. So... Breaker breaker..." Dean begins. Gracilynn rolls her eyes at her dad's impromptu prayer. They notice Cas standing a little ways away and they make their way over to him. "Cass? Cass! Hey, Cass! Oh, thank god. What is all this, huh? W-w-what did Balthazar do to us?"

"To keep you out of virgil's reach, he's cast you into an alternate reality, a universe similar to ours in most respects yet dramatically different in others," Cas explains.

"Like…like bizarro earth, right? Except instead of having Bizarro superman, we get this clown factory," Dean says.

"Um...Yeah, well...Anyway, no time to explain. Do you have the key?" Cas asks.

"Yeah," Sam says, handing Misha the key. "So, uh, what does this thing do, anyway?"

"It opens a room," Cas answers.

"What's in the room?" Gracilynn asks.

"Every weapon Balthazar stole from heaven," answers Cas.

"He gave it to us?" Dean asks, confused.

"To keep it safe until I could reach you. With those weapons, I have a chance to rally my forces," Cas replies.

"Oh. Okay, good. Yeah. So, now, uh, what's the deal with all this tv crap?" Sam responds.

"Pardon?" Cas asks, his demeanor instantly changing. Gracilynn narrows her eyes.

"Yeah. Amen, Padaleski," Dean agrees.

"Uh, 'lecki'," Sam corrects.

"What?" Dean asks, confused yet again.

"Lecki. Pretty sure," Sam explains.

"Man," Cas says, pulling out a script. Gracilynn huffs, throwing her hands in the air. _Of course he's an actor_. "Did they put out new pages?"

"New what?" Dean asks, even more confused than before.

"I mean, is this some kind of cosmic joke?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, 'cause if it is, it's stupid, and we don't get it," Dean says in turn.

"Yeah," Sam agrees.

"TV set guys. Actors," Gracilynn explains as if this should be obvious.

"Are you guys okay?" the actor says, giving the three of them a weird look.

"Give me that," Dean says, grabbing the script from him and looking it over. "What is…these are words in a script. This isn't Cass."

"Dude, look at him," Sam says, gesturing towards the man in front of them. The actor is unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a patterned new age shirt beneath it.

"You guys want to run lines, or...?" he asks.

"His name's Misha. Misha?" Dean asks, perplexed at the guy's name.

"Seriously?" Gracilynn asks, pulling the script towards her slightly to get a better look.

"Oh, wow. Just...Great," Sam says as the three Winchesters turn away from Misha.

"Misha? Jensen? What's up with the names around here?" Dean asks.

"You guys! You really punked me! I'm totally gonna tweet this one," Misha's voice is heard behind them. Misha pulls out his phone and starts typing. "'Hola, mishamigos.' J-squared... Got me good."

"I just want to dig my finger in my brain and scratch until we're back in Kansas," Dean mutters.

"'Really...Starting to feel... Like one of the guys'," Misha continues saying aloud what he's tweeting. Dean, Sam and Gracilynn walk away from him and past a trailer.

"Hey. 'J. Ackles.'," Sam says, pointing at the name on the trailer.

"That's fake me!" Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam says.

"This must be fake mine," Dean says as they enter the trailer. "Dude, I have a helicopter!"

"Wow, someone's excited like Dracula at a blood drive," Gracilynn says sarcastically, earning a smirk from her uncle. Sam turns around and notices a huge fish tank behind him.

"Oh. All right, who puts a 300-gallon aquarium in their trailer?" Sam asks.

"Apparently, Jensen Ackles," Dean says, looking at the aquarium himself.

"Huh," Sam says, spotting a laptop on a table. "All right, here we go. Let's see who this guy is."

"Well, he's not a hunter, but he plays one on TV," Dean says, pointing at a large black TV that's playing a gag reel. Sam begins typing on the computer and Gracilynn spots a magazine on the other side of the table. She picks it up, raising her eyebrows at the cover picture. She snorts and Dean turns around and notices the magazine in his daughters' hand. Gracilynn looks up at her dad and gives him a knowing look, turning the magazine over and showing him the picture of Jensen, Jared, and AnnaSophia. Dean raises his own eyebrows and takes the magazine from her and looks over at his brother, showing him the picture as well. "Come on. Look at these male-modelin' sons of bitches. And I don't even want to know what she's wearing. Nice 'blue steel', Sam."

"Hey. Apparently, it's our job. All right, uh, here goes. Um...It says you're from Texas," Sam says, reading off the computer. Gracilynn walks over and peers over her uncles' shoulder.

"Really?" Dean asks, walking over himself.

"Yeah. And, uh...Oh. Says you were on a soap opera," Sam continues. Gracilynn snorts, which turns into a cough to cover up the laugh which escapes.

"What?" Dean asks, appalled. Sam clicks a button and a clip from Days of Our Lives begins playing.

"If I didn't have cancer, and I wasn't married, and I had plenty of money... Would you - would you want to run away with me?"

"Money? What, you think I really care about money, Nicole? I care that you're healthy."

"Well, I'm no quitter, Eric. I…I…"

Dean slams the laptop shut, glaring at his daughter who has lost the fight against covering up her laughter.

"Don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this universe," Dean says.

"Yeah. No argument here," Sam replies.

"I don't know, it's not so bad," Gracilynn says, humor playing on her lips as she looks back at the laptop. Dean scowls.

"But I don't think our…our prayers are reaching Cass. Or the real Cass," Sam continues, ignoring Gracilynn's jab.

"Well, I agree. I think we are definitely out of, uh, soul-phone range. But..." Dean responds.

"What?" Sam prods when Dean doesn't continue.

"If we can reverse Balthazar's spell... I watched every move," Dean continues. He begins to sketch out the sigil Balthazar had used. "We just, uh, get the ingredients, right, get back to that same window, and...There's no place like home."

"Backbone of a lesser saint," Sam says pulling out a bone out of Bobby's drawer back on set. "Got it…uh…"

Sam pokes at the bone, realizing its rubber. Gracilynn snorts and takes it from her uncle.

"Its' rubber," Sam says, giving his niece a look who has found it entertaining to begin poking him with it.

"Check this out," Dean says, holding up a prop dagger, bending it backwards and forwards. "Hey, look. It's fake."

Dean jabs the fake dagger into Sam's chest, earning a look of his own from his brother.

"I'm surrounded by children," Sam says.

"It's all fake!" Dean says, ignoring Sam's jab.

"Well, at least they're talking to each other," Bob says, watching through the set window.

"What are we supposed to do with this crap?" Dean asks, tossing the knife on the desk. The three of them walk towards the door and exit out into back lot.

"'course everything is fake. We're on a film set," Sam says as they approach one of the Impala's. "We got to get back to the real world."

"Yeah, now you're talking," Dean says. The three of them climb into the car and Dean drives off. "All right, we go round up the genuine articles, bring 'em here for the spell."

The car begins making weird noises and Dean looks at it, bewildered as to why his baby is acting like this.

"What the hell is going on? What is wrong with this thing?" he asks.

"Mr. Ackles! Mr. Ackles, please!" a crewmember says, running alongside the Impala, knocking on the window. Gracilynn jumps slightly, not expecting a guy to be standing right next to her.

"Uh, dad?" Gracilynn says, realization dawns on her as she remembers what her uncle had said just moments before.

"God, Mr. Ackles, please!" the crewmember begs.

"Uh, Dean?" Sam says, realizing what his niece has just realized herself. "Dean, it's not the impala."

"Please! Stop," the crewmember says.

"You think?" Dean asks sarcastically.

"Please!" the crewmember begs yet again.

"It's a frigging prop! Just like everything else!" Dean yells in frustration. He stops the car and the three of them exit the vehicle.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for..." the crewmember begins only to have Dean cut him off.

"How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?" Dean asks angrily.

Please review!


	13. Night Gracie

And on to the next chapter! Enjoy!

"You know whereabouts you want me to drop you off? Jensen?" Cliff asks from the front seat of the car.

"Me? Yes. Um...I… I'll just tag along with, uh..." Dean begins to answer, forgetting Sam's name.

"Jared," Sam supplies.

"Jared...Jared here," Dean finishes.

"Huh. Since when are you guys talking?" Cliff asks.

"Yeah, uh, y…you know what, Clint, uh..." Sam stutters out.

"Uh, uh. Cliff," Cliff corrects.

"Y…yeah. Yeah, of course. Clif. Obviously. Um, so, uh, I think we're gonna go back to my place a-and do some...work," Sam says.

"Work on our acting," Dean puts in.

"Yeah," Sam agrees. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"For our characters. For the show," Dean adds.

"Yeah," Sam agrees again. Gracilynn rolls her eyes again.

"All right," Cliff says, then looks at Gracilynn. "Where am I dropping _you_ off Anna?"

"She's coming with us," Dean and Sam say. Cliff raises an eyebrow, looking at the boys before looking back at Gracilynn.

"I'm going with them," Gracilynn says, forcing a smile. Cliff looks surprised.

"You're…you're not going to a party tonight?" Cliff asks.

"Uh…no. I…I don't wanna be…tired for work tomorrow," Gracilynn says.

"No offense, but it wouldn't be the first time you went to work hung over," Cliff says.

"Oh…" Gracilynn says, not sure what else to say.

"Where the hell are we, anyway?" Dean asks, changing the subject, then notices a 'Welcome to Vancouver' sign. "Dude, we're not even in America."

"Not a big Canadian fan, eh?" Gracilynn asks with a smirk.

"Not funny Gra…Anna," Dean says.

The three Winchesters exit the vehicle and walk up to Jared's house, or should we say mansion. They all stare at it in awe.

"Dude, if you have a hot tub, I'm claiming it first," Gracilynn says.

"Ya know, you _can_ fit more than one person in a hot tub," Dean says. Gracilynn scoffs.

"If I'm goin' in a hot tub it's to relax. I ain't getting any relaxin' done with you two around," Gracilynn points out.

"What are you talking about? I'm relaxing to be around," Dean says.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night dad," Gracilynn says, walking towards the mansion.

"I am," Dean says. Sam pats his brother on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Dean. We still like you," Sam says, following his niece and feeling the glare from his brother. They open the door and walk inside.

"Nice modest digs, Jay-z," Dean says, taking in the inside of the house.

"Wow. I must be the star of this thing," Sam says.

"Yeah, right," Dean scoffs, then, nods towards a tanning bed. "Check it out."

"What am I, Dracula?" Sam says, trying to figure out what it is.

"George Hamilton Dracula," Dean replies, looking around the room some more and noticing a liquor cabinet. "Oh. Now we're talking."

Gracilynn walks over and peers out the window, making a face.

"Dude, you have a camel in your backyard," Gracilynn says.

"Really?" Dean asks excitedly. He walks over and peers out the window himself.

"It's an alpaca, dumbass," Genevieve says, entering the room.

"Ruby?" Dean asks. Gracilynn scowls and takes a step forward but Dean grabs her arm.

"'Ruby'. Right. That one never gets old," Gen says, then looking at Sam. "How was work today, hun?"

She walks over and kisses Sam, who doesn't know what to do in this situation.

"Wait. You and Ruby?" Dean asks, trying to wrap his head around it.

"Do you honestly think that's funny, Jensen?" Gen says, annoyed.

"Well, someone woke up on the Bitch side of the bed," Gracilynn mutters.

"Right. Right. 'cause you're not Ruby. You...I mean, how could you be? You...Of course! You are the lovely actress who plays Ruby," Dean says as Gracilynn begins looking around the room. "And you are, uh, in...Jared's house, Uh, because you two are..."

Gracilynn smacks her dad in the arm and nods towards a picture of Jared and Gen's wedding and Dean looks over, seeing it.

"...Married!" Dean says. He looks over at Sam, confused. "You married fake Ruby?"

"What are you doing?" Gen asks, ignoring Dean.

"Work. Work," Sam answers.

"Yeah, just, uh, thought I'd pop in, say 'hey'. Hey. Uh, and…and…and maybe run some lines. It's..." Dean stutters out.

"You've never even been to our house," Gen points out, cutting in.

"Always a first time for everything," Gracilynn says, plastering a fake smile on.

"Well, now that I know there's an alpaca out back, I'm definitely coming back," Dean says, jutting his thumb behind him.

"Well, alpacas are the greenest animal," Gen supplies.

"Right. Right. That is so important," Dean says.

"Well, there's that thing I have to get to," Gen says to Sam.

"Oh, yeah. Of course, yeah. The thing," Sam says, trying to act like he knows what she's talking about.

"The international otter adoption charity dinner?" Genevieve clears up.

"Oh," Sam says.

"Okay, well…" Genevieve says, kissing Sam goodbye. "Well, I'm glad you three are talking, anyway."

"Yeah," Sam returns. The three of them watch her as she leaves the room.

"Well, looks like you did all right," Dean says, for lack of anything better to say.

"Yeah. Yeah. I should figure out her name," Sam says off-handedly.

The three Winchesters are all sitting in a room, each looking at a computer. _Why he needs three computers I don't know_ Gracilynn thinks to herself as she clicks a link on the computer screen. She looks over at her uncle who's sitting at a desk in front of a giant self portrait of Jared dressed like a cowboy on a horse. A suit of armor is on either side of the portrait. Gracilynn shakes her head and looks back at the screen.

"Genevieve," she says. Dean and Sam look over at her.

"What?" they ask in unison.

"Her name's Genevieve," Gracilynn answers.

"Who?" Sam asks.

"You're not-Ruby, not-wife I guess," Gracilynn answers, looking over at her uncle.

"Oh. Uh, thanks," Sam says. He looks back at his own computer before reading off what he's found. "Wrist bone of saint and holy reliquary. Museum-quality, from diocese in Oaxaca. Looks legit."

"All right. Auction house is in Mexico City. We could be there day after tomorrow. We, uh, case it, yank it, be back here by the end of the week," Jensen says, walking over and looking over Sam's shoulder at the screen.

"Or we could just buy it," Sam counters.

"What?! Dude, that thing's over a hundred thou…" Dean exclaims, cut off by Sam holding up a credit card. "Hello, Jared Padalecki."

"Cubrir a su amigo en la aduana. no? Bueno," Sam says into his phone. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow, trying to figure out what he's saying but not getting any of it. She gives up and looks back at the screen her dad has up.

"Triple rush. No problemo. Because money is no ob…This baby's maxed," Dean says, tossing the credit card on the table. He opens his wallet and pulls out another one and places the order.

"Wow. They said it should be at the airport first thing in the morning," Sam says, after hanging up his phone.

"Money, man. There is nothing like it. All right. Couch. TV star. Beauty rest," Dean says, getting up and jumping onto the large black couch and lying down, letting out a contented sigh.

"I get one of the guest bedrooms right?" Gracilynn asks, eyeing the floor.

"I don't even know if we have one," Sam says.

"You're kidding right? A house this size? You have to have at least one guest bedroom," Gracilynn remarks.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to look," Sam says, getting up and following his niece, who's already on the second floor, up the stairs.

Gracilynn's lying in her bed in the guest bedroom when her eyebrows furrow. Shortly after, her breath catches in her throat and she begins tossing and turning. She mumbles a few things that can't be made out and her hands form into fists.

"No. No…no!" Gracilynn shouts, bolting up, her breath fast and heavy and eyes wild. She looks around the room and sees she's still in her uncle's, well Jared's, guest bedroom and forces herself to calm down. She thinks back to the dream and feels the bile rise up in her throat. She throws the covers off and rushes to the bathroom, expelling the contents of her stomach. When she's done, she sits back up against the wall, resting the back of her head on it and closing her eyes. She takes a few deep breaths and brings her breathing back down. Once satisfied she's not going to get sick again, Gracilynn gets up and rinses her mouth out before heading back to her room.

Gracilynn crawls back into bed and curls up in the covers. Closing her eyes and trying to fall back to sleep. A face appears before her and her eyes spring open and she looks around making sure it isn't real. Not seeing anyone, she bites her lip, looking towards her door. Making up her mind, Gracilynn pulls her blanket off her bed and silently walks downstairs. She walks over to the couch, intent on setting up on the floor next to it but stops suddenly seeing her dad awake. Dean looks over at her, noticing the haunted look in her eyes, and sits up.

"You all right?" Dean asks.

"Um…yeah. I just…was uncomfortable," Gracilynn lies.

"And you thought, 'Hey, the floor will be much better place to sleep'," Dean says.

"I…uh…" Gracilynn says, not being able to come up with a lie, her mind still in a whirlwind from her nightmare.

"Didn't know you could get sick from being uncomfortable," Dean continues, giving his daughter a look. Gracilynn doesn't say anything, just stares at a spot on the floor. "Must've been a pretty bad dream."

Gracilynn's eyes dart up to her dad, hating that he knew what had happened, but at the same time glad she didn't have to explain anything. Dean takes a deep breath.

"You can take the couch," Dean says, getting up, bringing his blanket with him.

"Thanks," Gracilynn says quietly, climbing onto the couch and covering herself up. Dean sets up a makeshift bed on the floor with the blanket and pillow. Before he lies down he looks over and sees Gracilynn already passed out on her stomach. A smile tugs on his lips and he pulls the blanket up around her, gently placing a kiss on her head.

"Night Gracie," he whispers. Dean lies on the floor and climbs into his own covers, closing his eyes. Something hits his shoulder and he looks over to see Gracilynn's hand dangling off the couch, just reaching his right shoulder. Dean smiles sadly and closes his eyes, falling asleep just as well.

Please Review! Can't wait for the next chapter myself! It's my favorite part of the episode


	14. Action!

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Gracilynn watches out the windshield of the car from where she's sitting in the backseat next to her father. Sam takes a package from a guy who has gotten it off the airplane. She hears him thank him and walks back over to the car.

"So I don't mean to pry, but, uh, why are we picking up packages at 8:00 A.M. that haven't cleared customs yet?" Cliff asks.

"Just saving time," Dean says as Sam climbs into the seat on the other side of Gracilynn. "Alright, here we go."

"We're not doing anything illegal, are we?" Cliff asks, looking into the rearview mirror at Dean.

"Would it make you feel better if we said no?" Sam asks.

"No," Cliff answers putting the car into drive and steering it towards the exit.

The three Winchesters are standing around the desk in "Bobby's house" on set. Dean cuts open the package to take a look inside. The lights turn on and the three of them look up in surprise.

"Whoa. What?" Dean says, not sure what to think.

"We finish today in 12 hours if it kills us all. Get 'a' and 'b' cam for scene 12," Bob Singer shouts out. He looks over and notices Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn standing on set. "What is this? Here for the first run-through, before anyone else? Dedication."

"Uh, can I talk to you for a second?" Dean asks, giving Sam and Gracilynn a look. Sam and Gracilynn grab the box and walk over to their chairs while Dean walks closer to Bob. "Um, we're gonna need the, uh, set cleared for…safe side, an hour or so."

"You need it cleared?" Bob asks, looking at Dean as if he's high.

"Yeah. Yeah. Me and, um...Jared and Anna were gonna do some actor stuff," Dean supplies.

"Jensen, we're thrilled to see you collaborating so creatively. And your enthusiasm is refreshing. Dean Cain was like that on "Lois," And that man's a real actor. And we will clear this set exactly when we shoot the 2 3/8 pages we are scheduled to shoot on this set. So you do your 'actor stuff' and we'll do our 'camera stuff' and, uh..." Bob counters trailing off as Dean sheepishly walks off the set towards his brother and daughter.

"Ooh, 'priority'. What's in it?" Misha asks, noticing the box in Jared's lap.

"I bought part of a dead person," Sam says bluntly, not even giving Misha a glance.

"Oh, cool," Misha says, not having anything else to say.

"Someone's taking blunt lessons from his brother," Gracilynn mutters to her uncle, earning a look from said uncle. "Testy…"

"Uh, so, bad news. Uh...Looks like we're gonna have to do a little acting," Dean says, walking up to them and cutting off anything else Gracilynn might've said.

"What?" Sam and Gracilynn ask, their heads whipping up and nervousness evident in their faces.

"'Supernatural' scene 36, take 1. Marker!" a crewmember shouts, smacking the clapper closed. Dean, Sam, Gracilynn, and Misha are all standing on set in Bobby's living room.

"Action!" Bob Singer shouts. Misha is in the forefront with the three Winchesters standing behind him. Dean is staring intently while Sam looks utterly terrified. Gracilynn keeps looking over at the cameras.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back," Misha says, turning around to face the trio. Sam flinches and Dean walks forward. He looks down and sees his mark, stepping to his right to meet it.

"Cut!" Bob shouts.

"'Supernatural' scene 36, take 8. Marker!" a crewmember says, moving out of the way.

"Action!" Bob shouts once again. Sam looks unsure of what to do with his arms and keeps rearranging them, folding and unfolding them.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back," Misha says again. Dean looks down at the script in his hand.

"Dean, grimly. And yet, somehow you got no problem with it," Dean reads.

"Cut!" Bob yells. Misha turns around and looks at the camera mouthing 'What the hell'.

"Action!" Bob shouts, a little while later.

"That's because...That's because we have no other choice," Sam says.

"Don't look at the camera," Dean says out of the corner of his mouth.

"What?" Sam asks, confused.

"Look anywhere but the camera," Dean reiterates.

"I thought we were supposed to look at the camera," Gracilynn whispers to her dad, walking closer to him and finally looking away from the camera. Sam looks up at the ceiling.

"That's because we have no other choice!" Sam says loudly.

"Cut! For the love of... Action. Cut!" Bob shouts, aggravated.

Minutes later, they're back at it again. Sam raises one of his arms stiffly.

"If there's a key, then," he begins, raising his other arm, "there must also be a lock."

"Cut," Bob Singer says tiredly. After they get set again, he says, "Action."

"If there's a key...then there has to be a lock. And when we find the lock, we can get the weapons, and then we can have the weapons. And the lock. We'll still have the lock, I imagine, because we've opened it, and, of course, the initial key," Sam says, stumbling over his words and awkwardly moving his arms around. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"We need to get all three of that crap," Dean says in a deep, rushed, monotone. Gracilynn snorts, trying to hold in a laugh.

"What?" Sam asks.

"That's how he talks," Dean explains.

"Oh," Sam says. Dean steps into the window frame and looks at Bob Singer.

"Do we really need all these lines? I mean, I-I-I-I think we've covered it. Right?" He asks, hoping they were done.

"Cut! What is happening? What's happening?! What's _happening?!_" Bob Singer shouts.

"An atrocity is happening," Serge replies.

"Seems like they should stop," Kevin offers.

"They can't stop. Nobody stops. Did we get anything we can use?" Singer says.

"Well, uh, technically, we have them saying everything in bits and pieces. Could be sort of experimental?" Kevin replies.

"Whatever. Season six," Bob replies tiredly.

Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn sit down in their seat in front of Misha and Sam looks at his script.

"Who wrote this? Nobody says 'penultimate'!" Sam says, smacking the script.

"Oh, come on Uncle Sam. It wasn't _that_ hard," Gracilynn counters.

"You didn't even say anything!" Sam says exasperatedly.

"Yeah, 'cause you two were so bad, we were never able to get to _my_ lines," Gracilynn points out.

"Gun, mouth," Dean says, making a gun gesture at his mouth. "Now."

"Moving on!" Kevin shouts.

"Thank God," Dean says, relieved. The three of them get out of their chairs and walk over to the table in Bobby's library.

"'I-m-h-o, 'J' and 'J' had a late one last night'," Misha says as he tweets into his phone. "'R-o-t-f-l-m-a-o'."

"All right, damn it. We earned this," Dean says as the three of them quickly begin unpacking the box and putting the spell together.

"Spell it out for me, please. What is our terror-alert level here?" Sera says over Bob Singers phone.

"I don't know, Sera. Orange, maybe? They started talking to each other," Bob answers, holding the phone to his ear and walking towards a somewhat quiet spot.

"What?! But that's a good thing," Sera points out.

"Right. I thought so. But now Jensen's living at Jared's house," Bob explains further.

Back with the Winchesters, Dean finishes completing the blood sigil on the window.

"That's it?" Sam asks.

"That's it Toto," Dean replies.

"I didn't think The Wizard of Oz what your kind of movie," Gracilynn points out. Dean ignores her; all he wanted to do was get back home.

"Plus, Clif says they're smuggling illegal stuff in from Mexico," Bob says into his phone, out in front of the window the Winchesters are planning on jumping through.

"Misha's celebrity tweet says it's a black-market organ thing. I'm betting drugs," Kevin supplies.

"Anyway, as far as I can see, I think they've lost any shred of talent they ever had," Bob says. Suddenly, Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn come crashing through the window behind them, landing hard on the ground.

"Drugs," Kevin reiterates.

"Maybe we did it wrong," Sam offers, the three of them inside Jensen's trailer.

"No. No, that…that spell was perfect. It should have worked," Dean counters.

"What if it can't? Look, I was up all night, looking online. There's no sign that anything like the apocalypse happened here. Ever. And as far as I can tell, monsters, ghosts, demons…they're all pretend," Sam explains.

"So nobody's hunting them?" Dean asks.

"No hunters. Look, maybe that's why our spell didn't work, Dean, you know? M-maybe here, there's no supernatural, no magic," Sam answers.

"No demons, no hell, no heaven, no… no god?" Dean asks.

"Something like. Even better…No angels," Sam replies.

"And to think we thought this place sucked," Gracilynn says. There is a knock on the trailer door and the three of them go quiet turning to look at the door. There is another knock on the door. "Are you gonna answer it?"

"Why don't you answer it?" Dean asks in turn.

"'Cause it's your trailer," Gracilynn argues.

"_I'll_ answer it," Sam says in frustration. He gets up and walks over to the door and opening it to reveal a young man in front of him. "Uh…hi."

"Is Anna in here?" he asks.

"Uh…yeah," Sam says, turning to look over at his niece. Dean raises an eyebrow, he and Gracilynn having heard what the guy said.

"Well, can I talk to her," the guy says.

"What?" Gracilynn asks, walking over to her uncle and staring at the guy, her eyes going wide.

"Hey Anna," he says, giving her a flirtatious smile.

"Uh…hey? What are you doing here?" Gracilynn says, biting her bottom lip.

"We have those flashback scenes together," the guy says. "Remember?"

"Uh…yeah, right," Gracilynn says.

"Listen, can we talk?" he asks.

"Um…yeah, given me a minute," Gracilynn says, shutting the door on him and turning to look at her dad.

"What? What's wrong?" Dean asks, seeing how uncomfortable his daughter is.

"Smalls?" Sam asks, seeing the same thing.

"It's Duke," Gracilynn says.

"What?" Dean asks, not sure if he heard her correctly.

"Who's Duke?" Sam asks.

"That guy. It's…it's Duke," Gracilynn says.

"Who's Duke?" Sam asks again.

"It's not Duke. He's just the actor who plays him," Dean says.

"But…" Gracilynn says.

"Guys! Who's Duke?!" Sam asks, getting annoyed they haven't answered him yet.

"Gracilynn's boyfriend the year you were supposed to be in the cage," Dean answers.

"Oh," Sam says, looking over at his niece. There's a knock on the door.

"Anna! You coming?" the guy says.

"Dude, I don't even know what his name is," Gracilynn whispers harshly. Sam goes onto the computer and types a few things into the search engine.

"Callen," Sam says.

"Thanks, Uncle Sam," Gracilynn says, annoyed she couldn't use this as an excuse not to talk to him. Gracilynn sighs and exits the trailer, meeting Callen outside.

"Hey," Gracilynn says, not being able to see anyone other than Duke in front of her.

"Hey," Callen says in turn, giving her another flirtatious smile. "Can we go to your trailer?"

"Yeah, sure," Gracilynn says, leading him past a couple trailers and into her own.

"What were you doing with those guys anyways? I thought they were too uptight for you?" Callen asks.

"I…they're not that bad I guess," Gracilynn says, turning around to face him. Callen nods his head and then gives her a smile.

"I thought I'd never get you out of there though," he says, walking over to her and putting a hand on the side of her face and kissing her.

Please review! And thanks to Jessfairy for the idea of Duke!


	15. I'm Not Liking the Odds

Sorry for the incredibly late chapter! Been really busy and me and my mom went on a mini vacation this past weekend so I didn't get anything done then either. I don't have to cram in watching Fringe before my free month of Netflix is run out any more so hopefully the updates should be a lot faster! Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

"Where the hell is she?" Dean says, pacing the trailer.

"Dean, calm down," Sam says.

"It's been almost forty-five minutes. What the hell could they be talking about for forty-five minutes!?" Dean exclaims. "And why the hell couldn't they have talked outside the door?"

Sam sighs. He understood Gracilynn's need for privacy, but he also understood Dean overprotective streak. Having said that, he knew damn well there was nothing that'd be able to stop Dean from over-reacting at the moment. Dean glances at his watch one last time before sighing in annoyance.

"I'm going," Dean says, walking towards the trailer door.

"Going? Going where?" Sam calls after his brother. Dean doesn't answer him as he walks out the door. Sam sighs and follows after his brother, catching up easily. "Dean, I get that your just being the overprotective dad but…"

"See? Right there," Dean interrupts, pointing ahead of them. Sam looks to where his brother is pointing and sees Callan exit a trailer with AnnaSophia Robb's name on it. "Why the hell were they in her trailer?"

"Dean…" Sam begins. Callan disappears around the corner and Gracilynn exits the trailer herself.

"She looks flushed. Does she look flushed to you?" Dean says, inspecting his daughter's appearance from their spot. Sam looks over at his niece.

"Yeah, I guess," Sam says, knowing that no matter what he says Dean's just going to keep going.

"So, they were in her trailer, she looks flushed, and…does her hair look…_not_ perfect to you?" Dean asks, his eyes narrowing. Sam takes a closer look at his niece and begins noticing the same things Dean is. "I swear if that ass hat had…"

"Dean, before you start assuming…" Sam begins but Dean's already halfway to Gracilynn. "Dean!"

Gracilynn looks up having heard her uncle yell her dad's name and she sees her father walking towards her. Correction: she sees her father _stomp_ towards her. Her eyes get a little wider and she bites her bottom lip.

"Hey dad," she says as Dean walks up next to her. Sam approaches moments later.

"So…What d'you two talk about?" Dean asks, studying her reaction.

"Um…just stuff," Gracilynn says, having a feeling her dad had already formed an opinion about what had happened. The problem was, was that his opinion was probably right.

"Stuff?" Dean asks.

"Dean…" Sam says, putting a hand on his brothers' arm. Dean shakes it off.

"Does this stuff happen to deal with hands and lips and other parts I'd rather not talk about?" Dean asks darkly.

"Dad…" Gracilynn begins, biting her bottom lip. Dean notices.

"You know what? Don't say anything, you've already answered that question," Dean says, turning away and stomping off. Gracilynn sighs and looks over towards her uncle, but now that the cat is out of the bag she sees she's not going to get any help from him either, noticing his clenched jaw. Sam turns around and follows after his brother. Gracilynn bites her lip again and remorsefully walks after her dad and uncle.

Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn walk in front of a green screen where two stunt doubles are practicing a fight scene in front of the Impala.

"Okay, maybe we can't get out of, uh, you know, Earth number two right now, but the least we can do is get the hell out of the Canadian part of it," Dean says to his brother.

"Yeah," Sam agrees.

"I hear one more conversation about hockey, I'm gonna puke," Dean states.

"Well, I love hockey," Gracilynn puts in.

"You don't have a say in this," Dean says to his daughter.

"Why not?" she asks.

"'Cause, you ditched us to…do stuff you shouldn't be doing," Dean says angrily. Gracilynn sighs.

"Dude, you already know I'm not a virgin anymore," Gracilynn counters.

"Don't remind me," Dean cuts in.

"Not that I want you knowing every time it happens but when it does it shouldn't come as a surprise," Gracilynn grumbles.

"Gracilynn. It'd be smart if you shut your mouth right now," Dean says.

"Seriously?" Gracilynn begins to argue.

"Gracilynn," Sam warns. Gracilynn gives her uncle a bewildered look before scowling.

"Fine," she bites out.

"Wait a minute. This way, this way, this way," Sam says, leading them down a hallway.

"No, no, no, no, no. It's this way. It's this way!" Dean says, leading them to go straight.

"Will you two make up your mind," Gracilynn says, standing in the middle.

"Shut up Gracilynn," Dean and Sam say simultaneously.

"No, Dean, look, I really…I really think that we should…" Sam starts in again but notices Virgil standing behind Dean. "Dean!"

Gracilynn looks over to see Virgil as well and her eyes grow big, matching her uncle's. Dean turns around to come face to face with Virgil.

"You think you can run?" Virgil asks dangerously. He lays a hand on Dean's forehead.

"No!" Sam and Gracilynn yell. Virgil looks confused when nothing happens.

"Sorry, dude. Mojo-free zone," Dean says, effectively punching Virgil.

"Stay here," Sam orders Gracilynn and runs after Dean and Virgil.

"No magic in the house," Sam says as he and Dean approach Virgil.

"Which makes you nothing but a dick," Dean adds, punching Virgil in the stomach. Sam joins in, throwing a punch to Virgil's face.

"Guys!" Gracilynn hears a guy say from behind her. She turns around and sees a group of guys running towards them.

"Not good! Not good!" Kevin shouts as he follows Lou. As they run past her, Gracilynn sticks her foot out and trips the leading guy sending him sprawling on the floor. Unfortunately, it doesn't deter them enough and they jump back up and grab Dean and Sam and pull them away from Virgil.

"No, no, no, no! Stop! You don't understand! No, no, no," Sam shouts as he's being pulled away. Virgil grabs the key from Sam's pocket without anyone noticing and runs off. Seeing her dad and uncle being held back, Gracilynn jumps forward and starts to run after Virgil. Someone grabs her from behind in a bear hug and yanks her backwards.

"You're dead, Virgil! Virgil! I'm gonna break your friggin' neck! Hey!" Dean yells after Virgil, the three Winchesters struggling against the people holding them back.

"I don't know. I mean, Virgil broke through. Maybe he's got a way to get back," Dean says and the three of them walk through the Supernatural set towards "Bobby's house".

"Or he has no juice here, and now he's stuck, like us," Sam replies.

"Yeah, either way, I want to finish kicking his ass," Dean agrees.

"Before or after you get arrested for assault?" Gracilynn asks.

"It's only assault if you get caught," Dean counters, leading the way onto the set of Bobby's house.

"You keep telling yourself that," Gracilynn says, sitting on top of the desk and watching her dad and uncle.

"There you are guys! You got a minute?" Bob Singer asks, walking onto the set and seeing the three Winchesters.

"Actually, we're…we're looking for, uh…" Sam stutters out, not coming up with a lie fast enough.

"...for that extra you tried to kill? So, is it money? Is this the kind of act that goes away if we can scare up some coverage on a raise?" Bob asks.

"More money? You already pay these three jokers enough as it is," Dean says unbelievably.

"Yeah," Sam and Gracilynn agree.

"'Cause I'd like to think that over these years, we've grown closer. That you don't think of me as 'director Bob' or 'executive producer Bob Singer', but as 'Uncle Bob'," Singer says. Gracilynn snorts.

"Yeah, that's never gonna happen," Gracilynn says.

"Wait, you're kidding. So, the character in the show, Bobby Singer…" Sam starts, trailing off.

"What kind of douchebag names a character after himself?" Dean asks.

"Dude, that's not right," Gracilynn adds.

"Okay, guys, let's begin again," Bob says.

"Yeah," the three hunters say at the same time.

"You know, I don't think Virgil would have shagged out of here without getting his mitts on that key," Dean says to Sam and Gracilynn.

"Yeah. Yeah, I agree," Sam returns.

"Same here," Gracilynn says.

"Guys...You can't come to work on poppers and smuggle kidneys in from Mexico and make up your own lines as you go! You cannot make up your own lines! Good god, what about your careers?" Singer exclaims.

"You know what? Screw our careers, Bob," Sam says, walking off the set.

"What?!" Bob yells in disbelief.

"You heard my brother. That's right, I said 'brother'. 'Cause you know what, Bob? We're not actors. We're hunters. We're the Winchesters. Always have been, and always will be. And where we're from, people don't know who we are. But you know what? We mattered in that world. In fact, we even saved the son of a bitch once or twice. And yeah, okay, here, maybe there's some…some fans who give a crap about this nonsense…" Dean says, getting closer to Bob.

"I wouldn't call it nonsense," Bob interrupts.

"But, Bob Singer…If that even is your name…Tell me this…What does it all mean?" Dean continues as if Bob hadn't said anything.

"Okay. This is good. I mean, we've all had our psychotic breaks, right? I can work with this," Bob Singer says.

"Dean. Virgil…I think he has the key," Sam says, rushing back on the set.

"We quit," Dean says, following his brother off the set.

"You gave them pills didn't you?" Bob asks Gracilynn. Gracilynn turns her head towards him, eyebrows raised.

"Seriously?! Dude, I'm not a drug addict! I don't get drunk every night! And my dad and uncle, yes…my dad and uncle…are prolly two of the sanest guys around considering _everything_ they've been through!" Gracilynn says, exasperated.

"Gracie!" Dean shouts off set. Gracilynn glares at Bob Singer before turning around and walking off set towards Dean and Sam.

"Maybe we can get on the police dispatch system," Sam says as the three of them enter into the Padalecki mansion.

"Put out an A.P.B on Virgil. Might work, if he stays obvious," Dean finishes Sam's thought.

"It's not like we have a lot of time," Sam points out.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" Genevieve shouts, quickly walking into the hallway and looking towards the Winchesters. She is obviously under duress.

"What?" Sam asks seeing the tears running down her face.

"Misha! He's been stabbed to death!" Genevieve sobs out.

"Where?" Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn ask as one.

"Where?!" Genevieve asks, confused.

"Yeah, yeah, Raphael. Like the ninja turtle. He was calling someone name of Raphael, up in heaven. Yeah, yeah. That's right. The…the scary man killed the attractive crying man, and then he started to pray. And the strange part…After a while, I s…swear I heard this voice, answering," a homeless man says to Dean and Sam.

"What did it say?" Sam asks him.

"Well, it didn't make any sense," the homeless man replies, trying to make sense of it himself.

"Try us," Dean encourages.

"The voice said, for Virgil 'to return tomorrow' at the place where he crossed over, 'at the time of the crossing' and Raphael would 'reach through the window and take him and the key home'," the homeless man says.

"Uh, okay. Hey, thank you," Dean says, handing the man a fifty dollar bill. The homeless man checks it out and looks back up at Dean as Gracilynn walks over to her dad and uncle.

"Hey," the homeless man says, checking Gracilynn out. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow.

"We're done here," Dean says to the man.

"I was just talking with the pretty girl," the homeless man says, grinning a toothless grin at Gracilynn, checking her out again. Gracilynn makes a disgusted face.

"And _I'm_ saying if you keep checking out my daughter I'll make sure you won't have any eyes to check out _any_ pretty girl," Dean says, his voice low and deadly. The homeless man notices this and the death glare Dean is giving him and nods his head before turning around and walking away.

"Dad…" Gracilynn starts.

"Don't tell me you're really gonna be mad at me for that," Dean says frustrated.

"I was _gonna_ say 'thanks'," Gracilynn replies, giving her dad a look.

"Oh," Dean says.

"Uhh...Dean, if Virgil gets back with that key, Cass is dead, and our world is toast," Sam says, getting his brother and niece back on track.

"Well, then we stop him. I mean, how bad can an angel with no wings be?" Dean says.

"About as bad as either one of you with no hands," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam look over at her, thinking about this. "I gotta say though, I'm not liking the odds."

Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	16. At Least We're Talking

Here's the next chapter. I know it's short but I promise the next one will be longer. It was the end of the hunt and I don't like starting new hunts in the middle of a chapter. Enjoy!

"You know that if we drop Virgil, get the key, then, this might be it. We might be stuck here," Dean says. The three of them are back on the set of Bobby's house.

"No, we'll figure out a way back," Sam assures.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be that broken up if we didn't, though," Dean points out, testing the waters.

"What? Don't be stupid," Sam says.

"Well, I'm just saying. No hell below us, above us only sky," Dean continues

"Dean, our friends are back there," Sam replies.

"Yeah, but here, you got a pretty good life. I mean, back home, the hits have been coming since you were 6 months old. You got to admit, being a…a bazillionaire, married to Ruby, the whole package. It's no contest," Dean returns.

"No, you know, you were right. We just don't mean the same thing here. I mean, we're not even brothers here, man. Gracilynn's not my niece. Not your daughter," Sam points out.

"All right, then. Let's get our crazy show back home," Dean says.

"Dad!" Gracilynn yells, running onto the set. Dean and Sam turn to look at her. "I think we've got a problem."

There's gunfire sounding outside and the rest of the crew turn to look towards the door.

"I don't think we have gunfire on the call sheet today, hmm?" Kevin says. Virgil enters the set and proceeds to shoot the crew. Serge dodges just narrowly missing being hit by a bullet.

"Hey!" Sam shouts at Virgil. Dean launches himself at Virgil and punches him in the face. Sam jumps in and helps his brother, the three of them scuffling in front of the set for a hotel. Sam takes the key back from Virgil.

"Dean! Got it!" Sam yells. Gracilynn sees the sigil on the set wall begin to glow.

"Dad! Uncle Sammy!" she yells. Dean and Sam look behind them and notice the sigil as well. Gracilynn runs towards her dad and uncle.

"Raphael. Run!" Sam yells, grabbing Gracilynn as she meets up with them and pulling her with him. The three Winchesters suddenly get pulled backwards and through the window. The Winchesters crash through it and out onto the pavement, hitting it hard.

"You three...Have the strangest luck," Raphael says, appearing in front of the Winchesters in a woman's body.

"Raphael? Nice meatsuit. Dude looks like a lady," Dean says, climbing to his feet and helping his daughter up while his brother gets to his own feet. Raphael squeezes her fist and the three Winchesters bend over in pain.

"The key," Raphael says. Seeing it lying on the ground, she picks it up.

"And that will open you a locker at the Albany bus station," Balthazar says, appearing behind the Winchesters.

"Really," Raphael says, not sure if she should believe him.

"You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing," Balthazar explains. Raphael's look hardens.

"Give me the weapons," Raphael orders.

"Sorry, darling. They're gone," Balthazar says.

"What?!" Raphael yells.

"I said, too bloody late. You see, they were so well-hidden that I needed time to find them. So, I volunteered these three marmosets for a game of fetch with Virgil. You three were such an adequate stick. Thank you. Thank you, boys…and girl," Balthazar explains.

"You've made your last mistake," Raphael threatens, taking a step forward.

"Oh, I've got a few more up my sleeve, honey," Balthazar says, right before Cas appears next to him.

"Step away from him, Raphael. I have the weapons now. Their power is with me," Cas announces.

"Castiel," Raphael says.

"If you don't want to die tonight, back off," Cas orders. Raphael looks as if she's going to challenge him but then disappears. Balthazar turns towards Cas.

"Well, Cas...Now that you have your sword, try not to die by it," Balthazar says before disappearing himself. Cas turns to the Winchesters and they find themselves back in Bobby's house.

"Cas, what the hell? Wait, wait, you were in on this, using us a diversion?" Sam asks, sorting through all the information they have just learned.

"It was Balthazar's plan. I would have done the same thing," Cas replies.

"That's not comforting, Cas," Dean responds.

"When will I be able to make you understand? If I lose against Raphael, we all lose. Everything," Cas says.

"Yeah, Cas. We know the stakes. That's about all you've told us! You just used my daughter as bait. I think I deserve a little more than that!" Dean says angrily.

"I'm sorry about all this. I'll explain when I can," Cas replies, disappearing himself.

"Friggin' angels," Dean mutters angrily. Sam walks over to the wall and knocks on it.

"Solid," he says, breathing out a sigh of relief. "It's real. Nice."

"Thank God," Gracilynn says, breathing out her own sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Yeah, real, moldy, termite-eaten home sweet home. Chock full of crap that want to skin you. Oh, and, uh, we're broke again," Dean says.

"Yeah. But, hey...At least we're talking," Sam says.

"And family," Gracilynn adds, smirking to herself. Dean and Sam notice this.

"What?" they ask. Gracilynn looks over at them and her smirk gets bigger.

"And…we're not really broke," Gracilynn says, pulling out a wad of cash from her front pocket. Dean and Sam's eyes grow big.

"Where'd you get that?" Dean asks.

"The same place I got this," Gracilynn says, pulling identical wads of cash from her other front pocket and her two back pockets.

"Did you steal that from that actress?" Sam asks.

"Dude, the girl's rich. I think she can stand to lose a few thousand dollars from her bank account," Gracilynn says. "'Sides I was her wasn't I?"

"Not really," Sam says.

"Yes," Dean says at the same time. Sam gives Dean a look. "Dude, it's already done. It's not like we can get it back to her. And Gracie's right. The girl can handle have a few thousand dollars missing from her stockpile."

Sam sighs and shakes his head, walking into the kitchen to grab him and Dean a couple of beers. Dean grabs the wads of cash and begins counting them, already planning on what they're going to do with it.

Please review! Would love to know what ya'll think. If you haven't already, please check out my new story I just put on here, Leaving On A Jet Plane. It's a short one-shot but it does take place in my 'Gracilynn' Series. Thanks!


	17. It's Nothing

Okay, so I went back and was looking at previous stories and chapters and realized the time-lapse breaks I was using this whole time, haven't been showing up on fanfiction. I'm sorry. I thought they were there this whole time (since the second story) so didn't think anything of it. So, I have now changed the breaks and hopefully this one will work. I am also going back and changing the previous ones so things aren't so confusing. And while I'm at it, I'm correcting the stupid mistakes that I started noticing and are now bothering me. So, again, I'm sorry for all of the confusion. Anyways, hope ya'll enjoy!

SNSNSNSNSNSN

"I'm gonna go grab something to eat," Sam announces, shutting his laptop. Gracilynn and Dean look up from their books. They had just arrived into town and were hunting a possible werewolf case. Sam stands up and grabs his coat and grabbing the Impala's keys out of Dean's jacket.

"I'm coming with you," Gracilynn says quickly, throwing her book down and grabbing her own coat.

"So, you're just gonna leave your dad here to all the research himself?" Dean asks.

"Yep," Gracilynn says, running out the door. Sam chuckles and shares a look with his brother before exiting the motel room.

SNSNSSNSNSNSNSN

Sam and Gracilynn are waiting at the diner for their food to finish cooking. A bell rings from behind them, announcing a customer's arrival. Gracilynn looks behind her to see who is walking in and her eyes grow wide. She turns around quickly and moves so her uncle is blocking her. Sam looks down at her, giving her a weird look.

"You all right?" he asks.

"Yup, I'm fine," Gracilynn says as a waitress sets their food down on the counter and rings it up. Gracilynn looks to her left and sees the group of people sit down at a table and she can't help but watch the seventeen year old facing her.

"That'll be 27.92," the waitress says. Sam pulls out two twenties and hands it over to the waitress. The young man at the table feels someone watching them and looks up to see Gracilynn. Gracilynn's eyes get big and she grabs the food.

"Keep the change," she says quickly, grabbing her uncle with her free hand and all but dragging him out the door.

"Gracilynn," Sam says, trying to pull her back, but she keeps pulling him. "Gracilynn. What's going on?"

"We need to go," Gracilynn says, shoving her uncle towards the drivers' side and climbing into the passenger side. Sam climbs in and starts up the Impala, driving off as the seventeen year old boy walks out of the diner.

"You mind explaining what the hell that was all about?" Sam asks his niece as he drives towards the motel.

"Nothing," Gracilynn says.

"That wasn't nothing," Sam replies. Gracilynn shrugs and looks out her window.

"It's nothing. It's fine," Gracilynn says. Sam's jaw clenches, knowing it was _not_ nothing and it was _not_ fine. He pulls into the parking space in front of their room and the two of them enter it. Dean looks up and sees them walk in, immediately knowing something is wrong.

"What's going on?" Dean asks as Gracilynn sets the food on the table.

"Can we leave town?" Gracilynn asks her dad. Dean looks over at his daughter, eyebrows raised.

"What? Gracie, we're working a job," Dean says.

"Well, you can call another hunter right?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, but we're here," Dean replies.

"Dad, please," Gracilynn all but begs. Dean gives her a look before shifting his gaze over to his brother, noticing the clenched jaw.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Nothing. I just don't want to be here anymore," Gracilynn answers.

"In all the years you've been with me, Gracilynn, you've never _once_ asked to leave a town when we're working a job. This is _not_ nothing," Dean counters.

"It was something in the diner," Sam chimes in. "She started acting really weird and practically dragged me out of there. Not to mention I gave to waitress $40 and Gracilynn told her to keep the change."

"Okay," Dean says, not seeing where the problem in that lies.

"The bill was under $30," Sam explains. Dean's eyebrows raise higher. Gracilynn knew they had to use their money wisely and was always good about it. None of this seemed like her.

"So…you're wasting money, dragging Uncle Sasquatch around, asking to leave a job… This doesn't sound like you. What the hell's going on?" Dean asks, looking over at his daughter. Gracilynn bites her lip, not wanting to talk about this.

"Smalls? Talk to us," Sam says, giving her his puppy dog look. Gracilynn waits a few moments before taking a deep breath.

"It was Duke," Gracilynn says.

"Duke?" Dean asks, then, recognition hits him. "Wait, Duke? Like boyfriend Duke?"

"Yeah," Gracilynn says quietly.

"And you didn't want to see him why?" Dean asks, knowing his daughter had liked him a lot back when they were with Lisa and Ben.

"Because I broke it off with him," Gracilynn says, "What's the point?"

"So? You couldn't say hi?" Sam asks.

"No," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam share a look, knowing there's something more. Dean looks back at his daughter, giving her a look of sympathy.

"Well, we can't leave. The full moon's tomorrow and no one will be able to get here in time," Dean says.

"Fine," Gracilynn says, grabbing her magazine and ipod, plopping on her uncle's bed. Dean sighs and looks over at his brother, sharing a look with him.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn walks out to the Impala to grab her dad's coat out of the trunk. It had gotten warmer later on in the day and he didn't want to wear his heavier coat. He also didn't want to get up and get it himself so, naturally, he sent his daughter out to get it for him. Gracilynn sighs and shakes her head, smirking slightly. She opens the trunk and grabs the coat lying at the bottom of it.

"I thought that was you back at the diner," a male voice says. Gracilynn jumps and spins around to see Duke standing in front of her.

"Duke. Wh…How d'you know I was here?" she stutters out.

"I remember you saying you, your dad, and uncle moved around a lot and would have to stay in hotels often," Duke says, glancing over at the hotel. Gracilynn follows his gaze. She shuts the trunk and looks back over at Duke.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"We're on vacation," Duke answers.

"Right. The cottage. That's here?" Gracilynn asks, remembering what Duke had told her last year.

"Yeah," he replies. Gracilynn nods her head. Duke looks like he's going to say something, but doesn't.

"What?" Gracilynn asks.

"You left pretty fast," Duke says. "And you broke up with me over the phone. If you can even call it breaking up."

"Duke…" Gracilynn starts, not really knowing what to say.

"You know, when we were together, you said you liked being able to stay in one place. You liked to have friends; a boyfriend," Duke says.

"Yeah, well, things change," Gracilynn replies.

"We also said that if you moved away again, we'd try to make the best of it," Duke points out.

"Things are just…really complicated. We move around…a lot. Trying to have a relationship…it's really hard," Gracilynn tries to explain.

"Since when did you give up because something was hard?" Duke asks, calling her out.

"It's just…really hard to explain," Gracilynn answers. Duke nods his head.

"You know, I told you a lot about me. And you…seemed to keep a lot about you, secret," Duke says, changing the subject, "But I dealt with it. Knew you went through some trauma and figured you'd tell me when you were ready."

"I know. And I'm grateful for that. But…you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Gracilynn says.

"Right," Duke says. "Listen, a friend of mine is throwing a party tonight at his cottage. You should come."

"I don't know," Gracilynn says.

"Gracilynn. Come. Just tonight. So we can catch up. Talk," Duke says. Gracilynn bites her lip and looks over towards the hotel room. She looks back and sees Duke waiting for her to answer.

"I'll try," she replies. Duke studies her a moment and nods his head.

"That's all I'm asking," he says, turning around and walking away. Gracilynn sighs and walks back over to their room and enters.

Dean looks up from his spot on his bed where he's cleaning his guns. Gracilynn throws him his jacket and sits at the table across from her uncle.

"You all right?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gracilynn says.

"So, what'd you and Duke talk about?" Dean asks, not looking up from his guns. Gracilynn's head whips around towards him. She looks over at her uncle who's watching her, and then looks back over at her dad.

"What? How…How did you know?" Gracilynn asks.

"Saw the two of you out in the parking lot," Dean answers.

"Oh," Gracilynn says, but doesn't say anything else. Dean looks up and sees her studying her hands. He sighs and puts his gun down on the bed next to him.

"I'm assuming he's why you wanted to leave?" Dean asks. Gracilynn looks up at him and shrugs.

"Yeah," she says quietly. Dean nods his head.

"So, what d'you two talk about?" Dean asks again.

"Stuff," Gracilynn answers. "He invited me to a party his friend was having tonight."

"Yeah?" Dean asks. "You gonna go?"

"We're on a job," Gracilynn answers.

"We can't do anything till tomorrow," Sam points out. Gracilynn shoots him a glare.

"You should go," Dean says. Gracilynn looks at him, surprised at the comment.

"What?" she asks.

"You're seventeen. Go out and have some fun," Dean says.

"Why do you want me to go so bad?" Gracilynn asks.

"Because there's obviously some unresolved issues between you two. And I know how much you liked him," Dean replies. "Just…don't have too much fun."

Sam snorts, knowing exactly what his brother was talking about. Gracilynn is reluctant but finally nods her head in submission.

"Fine, I'll go. But only for a little bit," she says.

SNSNSNSNSNSN

Please review and let me know what ya'll think! :)

Oh, and found out Season 9 starts on Oct. 1st. My birthday! The best birthday present ever! Lol.


	18. A What?

AN: So, here's the next chapter! I know I said I'd be putting chapters up faster but obviously this one wasn't too fast. Camp just started so I've been busy with that and I know it seems like I always have an excuse. It feels that way to _me_. Basically, I've been really, really busy. So, I guess, instead of promising anything set in stone, I'll just say that I will try my very hardest to get chapters up as fast as I can. Anyways, enjoy!

Dean feels Sam staring at him from the opposite bed. He'd been doing it all day, but especially since Gracilynn had left. Dean sighs and looks over at his brother.

"You gonna say whatever it is you wanna say or are you just gonna stare at me all night?" Dean asks, looking away from the computer on his lap.

"What?" Sam asks, surprised he was caught. He thought he was being discreet. Dean answers by raising an eyebrow. Sam sighs. "It just surprised me you were practically pushing Gracilynn out the door to go to this party."

"Yeah, so," Dean says, not getting the point.

"It's just not something I would expect from over-protective Dean Winchester," Sam admits. Dean shrugs.

"I don't know. I mean the way we were raised? We didn't get to do a lot of things normal kids did. I just didn't want her regretting anything," Dean says.

"You're not worried?" Sam asks.

"Nope," Dean says, looking back at the computer. Sam doesn't believe him.

"You have the cell phone tracker open in another window don't you?" Sam asks with a smirk.

"No," Dean says defensively, clicking a button on the screen.

"Right," Sam says, disbelievingly.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn walks up the sidewalk towards the house Duke gave her directions to. There is a bonfire in the back and she can see numerous teenagers gathered around it. She stops and watches the scene for a moment before taking a deep breath and making her way to the backyard.

"Gracilynn?" Gracilynn turns around and looks behind her, seeing Duke come out of the back door of the house.

"Uh…hey," she says, beginning to wonder what she was doing here.

"I didn't think you were going to come," Duke says.

"Yeah, well…I had nothing better to do anyways," Gracilynn says, forcing a smile.

"Right," Duke says, "Well, come on. I'll introduce you to everyone."

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"So, Duke said he knew you out in Indiana?" Jake asks.

"Yeah," Gracilynn replies.

"Talk about coincidence meeting up with him here in little ol' Bakersville," Jake says.

"Uh…yeah, I guess," Gracilynn says, thinking she really needed a drink right then.

"Why did you come here?" Gretchen asks. "It's not like it's a tourist attraction. If it were me, I'd have drove right by."

"We're just passing through," Gracilynn replies.

"Really? Where you headed?" Gretchen asks, intrigued. She seemed like a dreamer.

"Not sure. Wherever my dad and uncle's job takes us I guess," Gracilynn says.

"You move around a lot?" Gretchen asks.

"Yeah. But it's great. We get to see a lot of places and we help people so…" Gracilynn says, sensing the sympathy card beginning to play in Gretchen's eyes.

"What do your dad and uncle do?" Gretchen asks.

"Well, they…" Gracilynn starts but a noise to her right catches her attention. She looks over and scans the trees at the edge of the perimeter.

"Gracilynn?" Duke asks, looking at her funny. He had seen her instantly tense up and was trying to figure out why. Gracilynn scans the tree line and just as she's about to return her attention to the group, she sees it.

"Balls," she says, having heard her Uncle Bobby use it numerous times before.

"What? What's wrong?" Duke asks, looking in the direction Gracilynn is. The rest of the group looks as well. There is a person walking towards them, but he looked weird, they just couldn't place why.

"What the hell is that?" Jake asks.

"We gotta go," Gracilynn says, standing up from her seat.

"What? Why?" Duke asks, completely confused now. There is a low growl and the group looks over at the person steadily getting closer.

"Is that…teeth?" Gretchen asks, horrified, being able to make out the werewolf's appearance as it gets closer.

"Move it! Now!" Gracilynn says, reaching behind her and pulling out her gun.

"Where the hell did you get a gun from?" Duke asks, not sure he wants to know. There is a scream and the group of ten teenagers sitting off on the side have noticed the werewolf as well. They get up and begin running towards the house. The werewolf growls and begins running towards the frightened group of teenagers. It tackles one of them, landing on top of them directly in front of Gracilynn and her group. The werewolf looks up at them, bearing it's teeth at them.

"Holy Crap!" Jake exclaims.

"Oh my God!" Gretchen screeches.

"Gracilynn, what the hell?!" Duke shouts.

"Sonuvabitch!" Gracilynn says, brushing past Duke and running towards the werewolf, raising her gun and pointing it at the werewolf. The werewolf notices and growls. It lunges at her and Gracilynn pulls the trigger three times, shooting it in the heart. The werewolf is too close though and crashes into her. Gracilynn swerves enough that when she falls she shoves the werewolf to the side. Duke and Jake run over to her, Duke helping her up. Jake looks over at the teenaged girl, who is frightened and has a big gash on her arm, but otherwise fine.

"What the hell was that thing?" Duke asks, looking over at Gracilynn.

"Um…a werewolf," Gracilynn answers.

"A what?" Duke and Jake ask. Gracilynn looks over at Gretchen who is staring at the body on the ground.

"A werewolf," Gracilynn repeats.

"No, werewolves aren't real," Jake says.

"Think what you want, but you saw the same thing we did," Gracilynn says.

"I thought werewolves only come out during a full moon?" Duke asks, looking up at the sky. "The full moon isn't until tomorrow."

"They're not supposed to but something's been making all of them act weird," Gracilynn replies.

"All of them as in all of the werewolves?" Duke asks, trying to wrap his mind around everything.

"Yeah, and every other monster," Gracilynn says.

"Wait, there are more monsters? Like vampires? Ghosts?" Jake asks.

"Yeah. Along with shapeshifters, black dogs, zombies, and much, much more," Gracilynn answers.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Gretchen says, turning and running into the house. The three teenagers left watch her retreat.

"And you know this how?" Duke asks, looking back over at Gracilynn.

"'Cause it's our job. My dad, uncle and mine," Gracilynn says.

"Right," Duke says.

"You all right?" Gracilynn asks him.

"Just… give me a minute. I'm trying to wrap my head around this," Duke says. Gracilynn nods her head. There is a whimper and the three of them turn to look next to them, having completely forgotten the teenaged girl on the ground.

"Crap. Listen, you two deal with this new revelation. I'm gonna get Christy some help," Jake says, walking over and help said girl out and leading her to the house.

"So, this is why you always moved around a lot," Duke says.

"Being a hunter doesn't really pay all that great. We've had to get our money…in not the most…legal ways," Gracilynn says.

"Why would you want to do this?" Duke asks.

"Truthfully? It sucks. But we're helping people. And I'm with my family," Gracilynn says.

"Wait a minute," Duke says, as if something just came to him. "I thought you said you stayed in Indiana because your uncle _died_?"

"He did…kind of. It's a long story," Gracilynn says, but the look Duke gives her propels her forward. "Basically, we thought he did die. He should've been dead. But something happened and he was saved. We just didn't find out until a year later."

"Which is when you took off," Duke says.

"Yeah," Gracilynn confirms, beginning to walk towards the front of the house. Duke follows after her.

"So, when you said things were complicated, hard to explain, that I wouldn't believe you? I guess you were right," Duke says, looking back down at the werewolf on the ground.

"Yeah, pretty much," Gracilynn says.

"This is why were so secretive," Duke says, everything making sense to him now.

"Yes. If people knew what was really out they'd…"

"Freak out?" Duke suggests with a smirk.

"Yeah," Gracilynn says, smiling. There is a growl and Gracilynn and Duke's heads whip around and search the darkness.

"Tell me something, Gracilynn," Duke says, "Do werewolves hunt in pairs?"

"No, why?" Gracilynn says, turning to look in the direction Duke is.

"Because I think this one does," Duke says. Gracilynn's eyes widen, seeing the second werewolf start towards them.

"Run!" Gracilynn shouts, shoving Duke in front of her as she takes her gun back out.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Smoke on the Water" begins playing in the hotel room and Dean grabs his phone, looking at it before answering it.

"Hey, Bobby," Dean says.

"Dean, you still in Bakersville?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah, why?" Dean asks, giving his brother a look. Sam sits up on his bed and leans forward as Dean puts Bobby on speaker phone.

"Because you have a problem," Bobby replies.

"Problem? With what? It's a werewolf Bobby," Dean says.

"No, it's not," Bobby says.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"I mean, it's a group of werewolves," Bobby says.

"What?" Dean and Sam ask.

"Werewolves don't hunt in packs," Dean points out.

"Well, obviously these ones do. And they're not married to the full moon either," Bobby replies. Dean and Sam share a look.

"How d'you find this out Bobby?" Dean asks, still looking at Sam.

"A hunter who was in the neighborhood and figured it out. Remembered me saying something about a couple of hunters taking on the job. Didn't want you guys getting killed," Bobby explains.

"Bobby, we gotta call you back," Dean says, fear settling in the pit of his stomach.

"Something wrong?" Bobby asks, hearing the fear in Dean's voice.

"Yeah, Gracilynn's out there," Dean says, hanging up the phone.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	19. Never Is

AN: Happy belated 4th of July everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed it! Now, on with the story!

The werewolf appears around the corner and growls at Gracilynn. Gracilynn raises her gun, flicking the safety off, and aiming it at the werewolf. The werewolf growls once again before lunging at her. Gracilynn pulls the trigger three quick times and hits the wolf in the heart. It drops to the ground, dead. Gracilynn ejects her empty clip and takes one out of her boot and inserts it into the gun.

"Gracilynn! You all right?" Duke asks, running up to her. Gracilynn turns around and looks over at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answers, hearing her phone ring. She puts her gun in the back of her pants and pulls out her phone, seeing it's her dad. "Hey dad."

"Gracie," Dean says, sounding relieved. "Where are you?"

"Uh…down the street from where the party was. Just saved a group of teenagers from being a couple a werewolves dinners," Gracilynn says.

"You didn't. You need to get back here right now," Dean says firmly.

"Dad, they would've killed them. The teenagers'll lie. Don't worry," Gracilynn says, mistaking her dad's comment for anger at her going after a werewolf by herself. "By the way, since when did werewolves hunt in pairs?"

"No. Gracie. There isn't just two werewolves. It's a whole pack," Dean says, worry lacing his words now.

"But, they don't hunt in packs," Gracie says, beginning to look around her now.

"Well, now they do. And they're gonna be pissed you killed not just one of their own, but two," Dean says. Gracilynn hears the Impala start and the squeal of tires in the background. "Get inside Gracilynn."

"Okay, I…" Gracilynn begins, grabbing Duke's sleeve and pulling him with her, but stops. She looks around, fear in her eyes as the howls sound again.

"Gracie?" Dean asks over the phone, not knowing why his daughter stopped mid-sentence.

"Dad?" Gracilynn says, fear very evident in her voice.

"Gracie? What's wrong?" Dean says, the Impala's tires squealing as he rounds a corner. Gracilynn hears a noise and looks to her right, seeing a group of three werewolves walk into the street.

"They're here," she whispers. Gracilynn gives Duke a shove ahead of her. "Run."

Gracilynn shoves her phone into her pocket and she pulls out her gun from the back of her pants and takes off after Duke. Gracilynn runs into the parking lot of the closed corner store after Duke. She catches up to him just in time to have the first werewolf cut off their exit in front of them. They stop abruptly. Gracilynn grabs Duke and turns around to run back the way they came but the second werewolf is covering that exit. Gracilynn backs up and goes in another direction they can but the third werewolf has that exit covered as well.

"Come on," Gracilynn says, pulling Duke in the only other direction they can go but a fourth werewolf appears, cutting them off.

"Gracilynn?" Duke asks, eyes big and scared out of his mind. Gracilynn feels her breathing pick up .

"I…I don't know," she says, hearing her voice shake as she looks around at the four werewolves surrounding them. She slowly reaches down and grabs her other gun out of her boot, silently thanking God she brought it with her. The werewolves slowly make their way closer to them. Gracilynn takes a deep breath and whispers to herself. "Sorry, dad. Sorry, Uncle Sammy."

Gracilynn raises her guns, pointing them in opposite directions, one to the right and one to the front. She hears shouts right before the werewolves attack and Gracilynn pulls the triggers on her guns. The werewolf in front of her drops and the one to the right stumbles but keeps coming, crashing into her and sending both her and Duke flying onto the ground. As she falls, Gracilynn's head smacks into the black top and her vision goes black.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean squeals the tires yet again as he rounds the corner and speeds up, racing down the street Gracilynn was supposed to be.

"You see her?!" Dean asks his brother as he looks around himself.

"No," Sam says. "Wait. Dean. Look."

Dean looks where Sam is pointing and sees a werewolf race around the corner in front of them. Dean puts on the gas and rounds the corner, seeing the werewolf head straight from a parking lot. Dean slams on the brakes and jumps out of the Impala, followed quickly by Sam. The two of them pull out their guns and rush towards the parking lot, seeing the werewolves, four of them, surrounding Gracilynn and Duke. Gracilynn raises her arms, pointing a gun towards the werewolf in front of her and the one to her right. The werewolves attack and Dean and Sam shout.

"Gracie!"

"Gracilynn!"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn bolts awake, panting heavy. A set of hands appear on her shoulders and she reaches for her gun, but realizes it's not in her waistband.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. You're safe," a male voice says calmingly. Gracilynn looks over and sees her dad sitting on the bed facing her. "Hey, Gracie. Come on. Deep breaths before you hyperventilate."

Gracilynn forces herself to slow her breathing down, a pain in her side finally making itself evident. She winces and looks down, picking up her shirt to see a bandage on the side of her stomach.

"The werewolf got you before we were able to kill it," Dean explains. Gracilynn looks up at her dad.

"What happened?" she asks as the front door opens and in walks Sam.

"Hey, you're up," Sam says, giving his niece a genuine smile.

"Hey," she replies. Sam sets the bags in his hands on the table and walks over to the bed, taking a seat at the foot of it. Dean shares a look with his brother before answering his daughter's question.

"The werewolves attacked you guys just as Sammy and I got there. We were able to kill all of them, but they still got you," Dean explains, guilt in his voice and eyes. Gracilynn nods her head but then her eyes shoot over to her dad, fear showing through them.

"Duke! He was there! Where is he?! Is he okay?!" Gracilynn says.

"Gracie…I…" Dean starts but stops, swallowing a lump in his throat. Gracilynn feels a pit forming in her stomach as she watches her dad. She looks over at her uncle when her dad looks away from her. Her uncle doesn't look much better.

"Uncle Sammy?" Gracilynn asks.

"Smalls…we…" Sam begins, but stops, not being able to give his niece the bad news.

"We tried Gracie. The…the werewolves…" Dean begins. Gracilynn looks back over at her dad. "There was a fifth one we didn't see. By the time we got it…It…We couldn't save him."

"No. No, no, no," Gracilynn says, shaking her head.

"Gracie," Dean says, resting a hand on her knee and squeezing it in comfort. Gracilynn shakes her head and backs away. She throws her covers off and climbs off the bed, noticing her clothes are still on.

"He…We should've saved him. I…should've saved him," Gracilynn says, standing in the middle of the room.

"Gracie, you were knocked out. There's nothing you could've done," Dean says, seeing his daughters' eyes begin to water.

"Then where the hell were you?!" she shouts back angrily at her father. "It's your job isn't it?! To save people?! Why didn't you save him?!"

"Gracie…" Dean starts, not knowing what to say, more guilt piling on top of the guilt he already had over this.

"What's the point of doing this if you can't save anyone?!" Gracilynn says, tears beginning to fall. She turns around and runs out the door.

Sam looks over at his brother who looks like he's going to throw up. Sam rests a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezes it. Dean nods his head, forcing a swallow around the lump in his throat. He looks over at his brother, his eyes glistening.

"It wasn't your fault Dean," Sam says. Dean laughs sarcastically, a tear escaping and making a track down his cheek. "Try telling her that."

"Listen, I'll go talk to her. But Dean…she didn't mean that," Sam says, giving his brothers' shoulder another squeeze before he stands up.

"Yeah, sure," Dean says, not believing his brother for a minute. Sam gives his brother a sorrowful look and turns around to find his niece.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam walks over to the back of the Impala where Gracilynn is sitting. Gracilynn hears him but doesn't acknowledge his presence except to wipe the tears off her face quickly. Sam takes a seat next to his niece and looks out across the parking lot. He hears her sniff.

"You wanna talk about it?" Sam asks breaking the silence.

"No," Gracilynn says, not looking at her uncle.

"It sucks, not being able to save the people you care about. The people you love. Trust me, I know," Sam says. Gracilynn looks over at Sam, a few more tears falling down her face.

"When Jess died…I thought I wouldn't be able to get through it. But I did. Because I had Dean. And eventually, you'll get through this too, because you've got your dad and me. And it might feel like it'll never happen but just know that you can talk to us any time," Sam says, looking over at Gracilynn. She nods her head in understanding. A comfortable silence falls between the two of them.

"You know, it wasn't Dean's fault," Sam says, breaking the silence again.

"Yeah," Gracilynn says softly. "I know."

"You know, you're a Winchester through and through," Sam says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gracilynn asks, looking over at her uncle.

"It means when you're hurt or angry, you tend to say things without thinking and hurt the other person," Sam says. Gracilynn nods her head again and forces a swallow.

"I just…" Gracilynn begins but stops.

"You just what?" Sam prods.

"I'm sick and tired of losing people we care about. It seems like no matter what we do, how hard we try, we can't save them. I'm tired of saying good-bye," Gracilynn says, tears freely falling down her face now.

"Yeah, I know Smalls," Sam says, pulling his niece in for a hug which she accepts. Gracilynn wraps her arms around him and Sam feels his shirt begin to get wet.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Hey, dad?" Gracilynn asks, walking back into the motel room.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asks, not looking up from packing his bag.

"Getting breakfast," Gracilynn says.

"He just got breakfast," Dean points out. Gracilynn sighs.

"Can we talk?" she asks.

"I thought that's what we were doing?" Dean says, trying for humor but falling drastically short.

"I'm sorry," Gracilynn says, aiming for 'to the point'.

"For what?" Dean asks, looking over at his daughter.

"For blaming…Duke, on you," Gracilynn says.

"No need to be sorry. I should've done better. I should've saved him," Dean says, willing to bear the guilt.

"No, you did your best. It was two of you against five werewolves with me unconscious and Duke having no idea what to do. If it was anyone's fault it's mine," Gracilynn says. "I shouldn't have blamed you. You did nothing wrong."

"It wasn't your fault either," Dean says. "You tried."

"Wasn't good enough though, was it," Gracilynn says, then quieter. "Never is."

"Gracie…" Dean says.

"No. I couldn't save him. I _never_ can save anyone," Gracilynn says, anger beginning to form towards herself.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asks, not seeing the turn of the conversation.

"I couldn't save mom. Couldn't save Uncle Sammy. Couldn't save Duke. And I won't be able to save…" Gracilynn begins to rant but stops herself short.

"You won't be able to save who?" Dean asks when she doesn't continue.

"…You," Gracilynn says quietly. Dean walks over and rests his hands on Gracilynn's shoulders and looks her directly in the eyes.

"You listen to me. _Nothing's_ gonna happen to me. I'm not going anywhere," Dean says.

"You can't promise that. You don't know what's going to happen," Gracilynn argues.

"I know I'm not leaving," Dean says.

"Mom said that and she's gone. Uncle Sam said that and he was gone," Gracilynn points out. Dean sighs.

"Gracie…" Dean begins but is interrupted by Sam coming into the room. Sam stops and takes in his surroundings, cursing that he wasn't gone long enough.

"I need to take a shower before we leave," Gracilynn asks. She grabs some clean clothes and disappears behind the bathroom door. Dean looks over at his brother.

"Sorry. I was hoping you guys would be done," Sam says apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Dean says, finishing his packing.

"You good now?" Sam asks.

"I was always good Sam," Dean replies.

"So, no more blaming yourself? No more thinking Gracilynn blames you?" Sam asks.

"I know she doesn't blame me Sam," Dean says, zipping his bag up.

"And you're not blaming yourself right?" Sam asks, noting the fact his brother ignored the first question.

"I'm gonna go put this stuff in the trunk," Dean says, grabbing his bag and the weapons bag and walks out the door. Sam sighs, watching his brother walk out to the car.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll thought!


	20. I Am So Bored

AN: Here's a quick chapter for ya'll! Hope ya'll enjoy it!

"I've been getting blasts from hunters all week," Bobby says to the Winchesters as he begins pointing at different spots on a map, drawing circles around them. "Nest of vamps. Werewolf dance party. Shifters, six of them. Two hunters died taking them out. Ghouls, ghouls. Ghoul-wraith smorgasbord."

"Is it just me, or is that a straight kick-line down I-80?" Dean asks, noticing the path.

"Exactly," Bobby agrees.

"Looks to me like it's a Sherman march monster mash," Dean replies.

"Yeah, but where are they marching to?" Sam asks. Bobby circles another point on the map that follows the path.

"What is it?" Gracilynn asks.

"Guy bashes in his family's heads," Bobby replies.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn glances over at the interrogation door once again. Her dad and uncles were in talking to Rick, the guy who killed his family, and made her stay out here. They wanted her to take a look at the file, to save on time. Gracilynn sighs and looks back down at the file in front of her.

"You must be new on the job?"

"Huh?" Gracilynn asks, looking up to see a young man in his twenties with brown hair and eyes. He nods to the file in front of her.

"They stuck you with the paperwork," he says.

"Oh, yeah," Gracilynn says, forcing a smile.

"You're kinda young to be an FBI Agent aren't you?" he asks.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm an intern," Gracilynn replies. The guy nods his head, then, holds out his hand.

"Name's Al," he says. Gracilynn takes his hand.

"Gracilynn," she replies.

"So, what do you think?" Al asks.

"Me? I don't know. He's either lying or something affected his memory and made him kill his family," Gracilynn says. Al's about to say something but the interrogation door opens and Dean, Sam, and Bobby walk out, shutting the door behind them. They walk over to where Gracilynn and Al are sitting.

"Any way we can get into the security tapes at Starlight Cannery?" Dean asks, noticing Al sitting next to his daughter.

"Uh, yeah, hold on," Al says. He gets up and walks over to one of the computers and begins typing away.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Dean asks Gracilynn.

"Just the case dad," Gracilynn says through a sigh.

"Here you go," Al says, standing up and letting Sam take over.

"Thanks," Dean says.

"No problem," Al replies, then, looks over at Gracilynn. "See you around."

"Uh, yeah, see ya," Gracilynn says, forcing another smile before peering over her uncle's shoulder. Neither of the older hunters miss the lack of flirting coming from her.

"So, demon possession or ghosts? I thought this was a monster thing," Dean says, peering over Sam's other shoulder as Sam rapidly types on the keyboard.

"All right, here we go," Sam says as they begin viewing the video camera footage of the night the trucker killed his family. "Truck stop, night of the murders."

"That's him," Dean says, pointing at Rick on the screen. Eve approaches him. "Hmm. Hello."

Eve turns to face the camera and her face in grotesque; Sam pauses the video. Gracilynn makes a face.

"Freakish nightmare. What the hell is that?" Dean says, a face similar to his daughters' appearing on his own face.

"Bobby?" Sam asks.

"I've never seen that in my life. All those vamps and ghouls out on I-80…maybe they're coming in for Mother's Day," Bobby offers, not sure himself.

"Um...Okay, well, if that is big mama…whatever she is, we got zero on ganking her. So what are we gonna do if we run into her? Throw salt and hope?" Dean asks.

"No, we're gonna turn tail and run, because we're in over our heads," Bobby says.

"Right, cause Dean and Sam Winchester never put themselves in over their heads," Gracilynn sarcastically, earning a grunt of agreement from Bobby and a look from Dean and Sam. A phone rings in the background.

"I mean, we better get some real info on this bitch before we do run into her," Dean says, choosing to not say anything about the comment.

"Hey, let's go," a police officer says to them as he hangs up the phone.

"What's the ruckus?" Bobby asks.

"A guy just went postal down at the Cannery," the officer explains.

"Okay, I'll go. You finish here," Bobby says to the Winchesters.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"I am so bored…" Gracilynn complains. Sam rolls his eyes, trying to hide a smirk.

"You're not even researching," Sam points out.

"Doesn't mean I'm not bored," Gracilynn says.

"Well, Dean should be back soon with the food. I'm sure you can find _something_ to keep you occupied for fifteen minutes," Sam says, not taking his eyes off his computer screen. Gracilynn sighs in exasperation.

"Fine," she says. She looks around the room and notices Sam's empty open coffee cup from earlier on the table. She also notices the coffee accessories on the dresser, eyeing the spoon. A smirk appears on her face and she climbs off her bed. She grabs the spoon and takes off the wrapper. Walking back to her bed she stops by the table and steals a few pieces of paper out of the notebook her uncle is using. Sam gives her a curious look but doesn't say anything and goes back to his research. Gracilynn climbs back onto her bed after grabbing the bible in the end table drawer. She places the bible in the middle of the bed and puts the spoon on top of it, leaving the handle hanging off. Ripping a piece of paper off, she crumples it into a ball and puts it in the spoon and aims it at the cup on the table. Smiling, she smacks the handle of the spoon and launches the paper ball at the table only to miss and hit her uncle in the face.

"Really, Smalls?" Sam asks, looking over at her.

"What? You said to find something to do. This is something to do," Gracilynn says, putting another paper ball on the spoon and re-aiming it. She launches the paper ball again and the paper ball lands next to the cup.

"Fine, just don't hit me in the face," Sam says, sighing. Another paper ball flies through the air and bounces off the rim of the cup and onto the keyboard of Sam's laptop. Sam looks over at her and gives her a look.

"It's not your face," Gracilynn points out. Sam rolls his eyes, thinking his niece sounding just like her father. Gracilynn launches another paper ball and this time, it makes it into the cup.

"Score!" she yells, throwing her hands up in the air. Sam snorts. Gracilynn looks over at her uncle and a smirk pulls at her lips. She re-aims the spoon and launches another paper ball. This one flies through the air and hits her uncle smack in the middle of the face.

"Gracilynn," Sam warns.

"What?" she asks innocently. Sam looks over at her and smirks himself. He gets up and Gracilynn watches him as he grabs a spoon himself, tearing the wrapper off. He rips out some paper and starts wadding it up into balls. Gracilynn's eyes widen. "Uncle Sam!"

Gracilynn quickly starts wadding her own paper into balls and is almost done when a paper ball hits her in the face. She looks up to see her uncle loading another ball onto his spoon and flinging it at her, spoon held in his hand in the air.

"Hey! No fair! I wasn't putting the spoon in the air!" Gracilynn complains.

"Your loss," Sam says, shrugging, flinging another ball at her. Gracilynn dodges it and starts flinging her own ammo at her uncle. Neither of them hear the door open. Neither of them realize Dean has walked into the room. That is, until they both fling a paper ball at each other only to see a distracted Dean step into their path. Each paper ball hits Dean in the face and Dean freezes, eyes closed.

"Do I even want to know what that was?" Dean asks, opening his eyes and looking over at his kid and his overgrown kid brother wearing twin guilty expressions.

"She kept hitting me in the face," Sam says.

"It was an accident…the first time," Gracilynn says. "But _he_ stocked up on ammo and declared war."

Dean looks confused and looks around the room to make better sense of what they are trying to blame the other for. He notices the piles of paper balls on the bed and on the table, as well as the plastic spoons in both Gracilynn and Sam's hands.

"So, I leave to get dinner and you two start flinging paper balls at each other? I can't leave you two alone ever, can I?" Dean asks with amusement. Gracilynn and Sam shrug their shoulders, looking sheepish as Dean takes his jacket off and hangs it on one of the chairs. He walks across the room and sets his keys on the counter, shaking his head. Sam and Gracilynn look at each other, sharing a look. Dean walks back over to the table and opens the bag of food and Sam and Gracilynn watch him, not sure what to expect. They look over at each other, sharing a look once again. Suddenly, a paper ball hits Sam right in the side of the face and Gracilynn lets out a laugh.

"That was great!" Gracilynn says, then, looks over towards her dad. "Dad, that was…"

She is cut off by a paper ball hitting her in the forehead. Sam lets out his own laugh only to have another ball hit him in the face.

"All right, that's it," Sam says, getting up and grabbing a handful of Gracilynn's ammo pile and begins launching them at his brother. Gracilynn smiles and joins in, the two of them ganging up on her father.

About ten minutes later, and a whole notebook, a phone begins to ring. Dean flings a ball at his daughter and pulls out his phone seeing it's Bobby. He presses the answer button and brings it to his ear.

"Time out! Bobby's on the…" he begins but is hit in the face by two paper balls simultaneously. Dean gives them a look and Sam and Gracilynn give him each a smirk. "Hey, Bobby."

"_What's going on over there?_" Bobby asks, having heard Dean's comment being cut off.

"Nothing. Just the two bad-ass hunters acting like five year olds," Dean says.

"_Well, you should know something about that huh, Dean?_" Bobby replies with a smirk.

"Did you find something Bobby?" Dean asks.

"_Yeah, we think so_," Bobby answers.

"We?" Dean asks, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

"I ran into Rufus," Bobby replies.

"Yeah? How's he doin?" Dean asks.

"Good. Listen can you three meet us at the Cannery?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah, we'll be there soon," Dean says and hangs up his phone. He turns to look at his daughter and brother. "Bobby found something. He wants us to meet him and Rufus at the Cannery."

"Rufus?" Sam and Gracilynn ask.

"Yeah, Bobby ran into him when he went on that call," Dean replies. "Grab the food, we can eat on the way."

"We should clean up first," Sam says. The three Winchesters look around the room and notice the abundance of paper balls littering the floors and surfaces of the motel room.

"Uh, I'll meet ya out in the car," Gracilynn says, quickly throwing her jacket on and grabbing the bag of food.

"I'm with her," Dean says, pointing after his daughter. He grabs his own jacket and throwing it on, grabs two of the drinks and follows his daughter out the door. Sam sighs and looks around the room one more time before shaking his head and grabbing the last drink and exiting the room.

AN: Please review! Would love to know what ya'll think!


	21. What Is Wrong With You?

AN: Here's a quick chapter for ya'll! Unfortunately, it's a short chapter, but hopefully the next chapter will be up pretty quick as well.

"I don't even know why you have a driver's license," Rufus grumbles to Bobby as the two of them climb out of the car.

"If you think he's bad, you should try riding with dad," Gracilynn says to Rufus with a smirk. Rufus chuckles, taking in the glare Dean sends his daughters' way. Dean looks back over at Rufus and smiles.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Dean says.

"It really is good to see you, Rufus," Sam adds.

"I can believe it. It must get old dealing with this miserable cuss here all by yourself," Rufus replies.

"Is it that obvious?" Sam asks with a smirk.

"Why don't you three get a room?" Bobby grumbles.

"All right, we all pack a snack?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," Sam answers.

"Let's see what we can see," Dean says, leading the way to the door of the Cannery. Rufus walks over to Gracilynn and pulls her in for a side hug as they follow Dean.

"I don't know how you do it," he says to her, watching the two older Winchesters and Bobby walk ahead of them.

"Do what?" she asks, looking over at him. Rufus smiles and looks over at her.

"Deal with those three twenty-four, seven," he replies, nodding towards the group in front of them.

"Lots and lots of alcohol," Gracilynn replies with her own smile. Rufus chuckles and gives her a squeeze.

"Gracie, stay close," Dean says as they get to the door and he pulls out his gun. Gracilynn rolls her eyes, but moves to stand nearer her dad and uncle anyways, pulling out her own gun. The five hunters walk into the Cannery, searching for anything that is 'their kind of weird'. They come upon a door and Gracilynn realizes the four male hunters have boxed her in and rolls her eyes yet again. She looks back over at the door and sees something moving right before the door opens and Gwen steps out.

"Gwen?" Dean asks.

"Dean," Gwen replies. Samuel appears behind her in the other room and the next thing Gracilynn knows is her dad is walking determinedly to him, raises his gun and pointing it at him.

"Welcome to next time," Dean says vehemently. Sam rushes towards his brother and lowers Dean's gun arm.

"No, no, no, no! Hold on!" Sam exclaims.

"I said I'd kill him!" Dean shouts. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip, knowing her dad was dead serious (no pun intended). And hell, could you blame him. Samuel, their family, their own flesh and blood, sold them all out to Crowley.

"Look, just a second," Sam says. Rufus steps over to them.

"I take it you know each other," Rufus says.

"He's our grandfather," Dean says with disgust as Gracilynn comes over to stand next to her dad.

"Oh. Somebody needs a hug," Rufus cracks.

"Why are you here?" Bobby says, finding it hard to push down his anger, knowing what Samuel did to the Winchesters.

"We're working. You?" Samuel replies.

"None of your damn business!" Dean shouts angrily.

"Sam, Gracilynn, take Dean for a walk," Bobby says.

"You got to be kidding me," Dean says exasperatedly.

"Look, Dean, it's fine," Sam says, giving his niece a look which she returns as the two of them follow Dean to the door.

"How?" Dean asks, annoyed. The three of them walk out of the room. Dean turns to look at Sam. "What is wrong with you?"

"Look, maybe he knows something," Sam says.

"Yeah, like how to sell out your family," Gracilynn says sarcastically. Dean makes an 'exactly' gesture.

"You don't remember what he did. I do. Gracilynn does," Dean adds.

"I know. I'm not saying don't. I'm saying not yet," Sam clarifies. He gives Gracilynn a 'stay put' look before going back through the door and into the other room. Dean throws his hands up in exasperation.

"This is bull," Dean says, turning around. Gracilynn nods her head and peers through the window of the door, seeing the group of hunters talking inside. Gracilynn sighs. There is a noise behind her and she turns around to see her dad looking behind him as well.

"What was that?" Gracilynn asks, pulling out her gun.

"Don't know. Stay here," Dean says, pulling out his own gun and silently walking around the corner. Gracilynn looks around her but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Shortly after, Dean comes back around the corner.

"What was it?" Gracilynn asks, taking a few steps towards her dad.

"Didn't see anything," Dean says. The door opens and the two of them look to see Gwen walk in.

"Dean. Is it true?" Gwen asks.

"What?" Dean asks in turn.

"Did Samuel really try to…" Gwen begins.

"Kill me? Yes. He didn't even blink. Had Gracie and Sammy next in line. That's the guy you're rolling with," Dean finishes.

"He didn't tell me anything about that. I didn't know," Gwen replies.

"I know. Honestly, there's something I need to tell you," Dean says.

"What?" Gwen asks, taking a step forward. Gracilynn's eyes grow wide when Dean takes out his gun and shoots Gwen in the heart.

"Dad!" Gracilynn shouts, surprised at what she just saw her dad do. Dean turns to look at his daughter and moves to point the gun at her, Gracilynn's eyes getting bigger. "Dad?"

"Bye Gracie," Dean says and pulls the trigger.

AN: Okay, please don't hurt me :/ It just seemed like the perfect place to stop? Okay, so I guess there's no real reason except for it's been awhile since I've had a decent cliffhanger. Please review!


	22. It's Not In Me!

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Gracilynn registers what her dad says a split second too late. She jumps out of the way but the bullet hits her in the arm anyways. She hears footsteps and a door crashing open. Footsteps are heard running towards where Gwen is and Rufus' voice speaks up.

"See if you can plug that hole up, Bobby," Rufus says. Sam looks up from where he has checked for Gwen's pulse and doesn't see Dean around anywhere. His eyes grow wide and he stands up and spins around, not seeing Gracilynn anywhere either. And there were two shots. Rufus begins chest compressions while Bobby tries to plug the hole up.

"Smalls? Smalls!" Sam calls out. He leaves the room in search for his brother and niece, hoping to find them both alive.

"Come on, girl! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Rufus shouts as he tries to revive Gwen. Gracilynn groans and sits up, finding herself behind some crates.

"She's gone," Bobby says to Rufus and Samuel, who's standing by watching the scene before him. Gracilynn takes a few breaths and looks down to see blood seeping out of her left arm.

"Ah, damn it," Rufus says, giving up on chest compressions. Gracilynn tries to see what's going on but can't see anything over the crates in front of her. By the sound of the conversation, it doesn't look good for Gwen.

"I'm sorry...If you care," Bobby says to Samuel.

"Screw you. I care," Samuel bites out. Gracilynn grabs her arm and moves to her knees, trying to get herself up as she hears someone walk into the room, realizing it's her uncle when he talks.

"Is she, uh...?" Sam starts, but answers his own question when he looks at the body.

"Where's Dean? Gracilynn?" Rufus asks.

"I couldn't find him. Whatever got into those guys must have got into Dean. Or Gracilynn. Or both," Sam says. Gracilynn shoves herself to her feet, letting out a groan. Sam's head whips around and sees his niece trying to get to her feet from behind a bunch of crates. "Smalls!"

Sam runs over and helps her up, taking in her appearance as he does so. He notices her clutching her left arm and the blood on her hand and sleeve. He looks for any other injuries but doesn't see anything.

"What happened? You okay?" Sam asks, gently pulling Gracilynn's hand away from her arm. Bobby and Rufus walk over to see what is going on, seeing the bullet wound themselves.

"Something's…in dad. I don't know what. One minute he was himself and then we heard a noise and he went to check it out but he said it was nothing when he came back. That's when Gwen came in and…and dad shot her," Gracilynn explains.

"How d'you get shot?" Bobby asks. Gracilynn looks over at him and bites her lip.

"Smalls?" Sam asks. Gracilynn shifts her gaze to her uncle.

"Dad…" she says, but trails off. Sam nods his head and stands up, looking at the back of her arm.

"Well, the bullet went straight through so at least there's that," Sam says. He pulls out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wraps it around her arm, tying it off and effectively putting pressure on the wound.

"Rufus, help Samuel move her somewhere. Sam, Gracilynn, and I will lock down here. We're gonna want to find Dean before he finds us," Bobby says, taking charge.

"We're gonna find him alive, Samuel, or I'm gonna put a bullet into your head," Sam warns Samuel with a low, deadly tone. Sam, Gracilynn, and Bobby begin closing and locking doors as Rufus and Samuel pick Gwen up and move her to a different location before they begin looking for Dean. Sam looks over at his niece, seeing her wince.

"You all right?" he asks her. Gracilynn looks over at him, seeing the concern in his eyes, just glad that she sees it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gracilynn says and turns to shut and lock the door in front of her.

"You sure. 'Cause you got shot…by your dad," Sam says. Gracilynn sighs.

"I'm fine Uncle Sam," Gracilynn replies. Sam studies her for a minute and shares a look with Bobby before sighing himself.

"All right, let's start looking for the idjit," Bobby says, as Rufus and Samuel meet back up with them, leading the way down another hallway. Sam looks next to him to make sure Gracilynn is still there and okay before taking out his phone and hitting Dean's number to call him. They hear it ringing and Rufus is the first one to spot Dean.

"Dean, put that damn thing down," Rufus says to Dean, pointing his gun at the older Winchester. Samuel rushes over and points his gun at Dean and Dean lifts his own gun, aiming it at Samuel. "Dean, put it down."

"You're the least of my worries right now, Rufus," Dean says, not taking his eyes off Samuel.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," Sam says, trying to get everyone to calm down, but pointing his gun at Samuel.

"Okay, both of you," Bobby says to Dean and Rufus.

"Both of us, my ass," Rufus replies.

"I'm not in the mood. I just had a 12-inch...Herpe crawl out of my ear," Dean says, unamused.

"What?" Sam asks, clearly confused.

"You know what a herpe looks like?" Gracilynn asks.

"You heard me. I just woke up on the ground, just in time to see this…this...worm thing sliding out of my freaking ear and into that vent. So you tell me what the hell's going on!" Dean says, freaking out a little.

"You killed Gwen. That's what's going on," Sam says, stepping in front of Gracilynn's shoulder, but not making it obvious. No need to freak Dean out more than he already is.

"We were just talking out in the hallway. That's the last thing I remember. That thing must have jumped me," Dean says, trying to sort through everything, and feeling bad for shooting Gwen.

"So, we're talking about, like, a monster that gets in you?" Bobby asks, trying to get the conversation rolling and trying to figure this hunt out.

"It's like a Khan worm on steroids," Dean explains further.

"You mean like a parasite, something that took over your body," Sam offers.

"Worm crawls in you, worm crawls out," Dean replies.

"Monster possession? That's novel," Rufus says.

"You did seem possessed," Gracilynn says. Dean looks over at her and checks her over to make sure she's okay. He doesn't see anything but he knows something's wrong.

"Or that thing's still in you, and we can't trust a word that you're saying," Samuel accuses.

"It's not!" Dean yells, glaring at Samuel.

"Check your ear," Bobby orders. Gracilynn and Dean give Bobby a weird look.

"What do you mean, check my ear? Check my ear for what?" Dean asks as Rufus sneaks up next to him and puts one of his fingers in Dean's ear. Dean jolts backwards and gives Rufus a look. "Hey! What? Why don't you buy me a drink first?"

"Second date. Oh, yeah, we're goo positive," Rufus says, showing the black goo on his finger to the rest of the hunters.

"What does that mean? What does that mean?" Dean asks.

"That means it was in you, all right," Rufus says.

"Or still is," adds Sam.

"It's not in me!" Dean shouts.

"I believe you dad," Gracilynn says, giving her dad a supportive smile.

"Okay. Everybody, give up your guns," Bobby says.

"What?" Samuel asks, giving Bobby a stunned expression.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, think about this for a second, Bobby," Rufus says, not wanting to give his gun up either.

"I'm thinking we don't know who is and who ain't got the damn Khan worm up inside his melon," Bobby explains.

"It's not in me!" Dean shouts.

"I didn't say it was. Point is we don't know who it is. It could be any one of us. So the best we can do...is to make it that much harder for that thing to blow our fool heads off," Bobby says, being the voice of reason. He holds open a bag and puts his own gun inside. The other hunters watch each other for a minute. Gracilynn watches her dad and he slowly puts his gun inside the sack. Sam follows suit and places his gun inside as well. Seeing her dad and uncle do it, Gracilynn pulls her gun out of its' place in the small of her back and puts it in the bag. Rufus follows after her. Samuel just watches them, not making a move to do anything. Rufus looks over at him.

"Are you waiting for a handwritten invite, Campbell?" he asks. Reluctantly, Samuel gives his gun up. The group of hunters go back to the original room and Bobby locks the gun bag in a locker.

"Okay. We need some time to breathe, make a plan," Bobby says.

"A plan? Based on?" Samuel asks.

"I'm gonna make a few phone calls, see if anybody ever heard of anything like this," Bobby answers.

"Hmm. Ditto. Got a few trees I can shake," Rufus says. The group of hunters turn around and walk back to the room. The three elder hunters begin walking back to the original room. Gracilynn moves to follow after them and Dean notices the blood and makeshift tourniquet on her arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean says, stepping up to her and stopping her escape. "What the hell happened?"

"Uh…nothing," Gracilynn says, sharing a look with her uncle. One Dean doesn't miss. Dean looks from Gracilynn to Sam and then back again.

"What happened?" Dean asks, a pit forming in his stomach.

"It's taken care of, nothing to worry about," Sam says, trying to not answer the question completely. His brother would never forgive himself if he found out he shot his own daughter.

"Just tell me what the hell happened," Dean says loudly. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip and Sam looks anywhere but his brother.

"It…It wasn't you dad," Gracilynn says.

"Y…You mean…I shot you?" Dean asks, feeling like he's going to throw up.

"It wasn't you. The slug made you do it. You didn't know what you were doing," Gracilynn says, trying to relieve her dad's guilt, knowing she wouldn't be able to.

"You're okay?" Dean asks, eyeing the wound. He looks over at his brother. "She's okay?"

"It was a through and through. Stopped the bleeding, it'll probly need stitches but we had to find you first before we could do anything," Sam says, knowing Dean wasn't going to like the last part.

"What? You should've put them in right away," Dean accuses.

"You shot Gwen dad. It was too dangerous _not_ to find you right away," Gracilynn says. Dean is struggling with his father voice and his voice of reason telling him Gracilynn is right.

"Yeah, I know," Dean finally admits. "Come on let's go take a closer look at that."

SNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Oh, balls, Allard. No, I told you that," Bobby says into the phone. The six hunters are all hanging around the room; Bobby and Rufus pacing the floor, Samuel sitting in a chair at one end of the room, and Dean and Sam sitting in chairs at a table. Gracilynn is sitting in a chair against the wall across from her dad and uncle. She's sitting so she's hanging upside down, feet resting on the wall and head barely touching the floor. She lets out a sigh. Her dad cleaned and stitched up her arm and gave her pain killers.

"Damn it," Rufus says flipping his phone closed. Dean looks over at his daughter and can tell she's bored out of her mind. She had been sitting like that for a while and he's surprised all the blood hasn't rushed to her head. Samuel stands up and Sam quickly blocks his path.

"Relax. Bathroom break. So unless you want to hold it for me..." Samuel says sarcastically to Sam. Sam doesn't say anything but let's Samuel pass him. Dean and Sam share a look and the two of them get up and follow him. Dean smacks Gracilynn's knees and she looks up at him. Dean nods his head at her to follow them. She lets her feet and legs fall and she does a backwards roll off the chair onto her feet.

"Let's go Cirque Du Solei," Dean says.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	23. Define 100

AN: Sorry for the late update, but I was writing a short fic that was bugging me so I had to get it down on paper. If you haven't checked it out it's called "Tornado". Anyways, here's the next chapter! A nice long one for ya!

Samuel walks around a row of lockers and finds the three Winchesters waiting for him, none of them looking happy.

"What?" Samuel asks, annoyed.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering how you sleep at night," Dean replies.

"Like a baby. Thanks for asking," Samuel says.

"You fed us to Crowley," Dean points out angrily.

"True, but what am I gonna do about it now? Do I blame you for wanting to kill me? Of course not, Dean. What I did was...but I'm not apologizing. I did what I did. I don't cry over spilled blood," Samuel counters. Gracilynn scoffs.

"So you really can just go on, like..." Sam begins, but Samuel cuts him off.

"Just because you're Dr. Jekyll at the moment doesn't mean you can get all high and mighty. Don't forget, we spent a year together," Samuel lectures.

"Yeah, 'cause spending a year with the _soulless_ version of someone makes you a professional on them," Gracilynn says sarcastically.

"Yeah, we did. We're blood. And you still sold me out," Sam replies.

"Trust me, what I did pales in comparison to what you did, and on more than one occasion," Samuel says.

"The problem is Uncle Sam was _soulless_ when he did that stuff. _You_ had a soul and you still sold your family out," Gracilynn spits out. Samuel narrows his eyes at her.

"You should show respect to your elders," Samuel chides.

"Well, you're definitely an elder," Gracilynn responds. Samuel opens his mouth to say something, but Sam cuts him off.

"All right, tell me what I did," Sam says.

"No. Sam, come on," Dean says, standing between his brother and Samuel and making sure Gracilynn was behind him as well. No need to have her and Samuel get in a fight. Dean glares at Samuel and speaks with vehemence in his voice. "The only reason you're alive right now is because we're working a job. The minute we kill this thing...you're next."

"Okay, then. We'll just see," Samuel says. Gracilynn snorts knowing her dad always keeps his promises. Dean suddenly sees black goo coming from Samuel's ear. Samuel pulls out his gun and Dean quickly angles it up. Sam shoves Gracilynn behind him as Samuel fires his gun but misses. Samuel shoves Dean and Sam into Gracilynn and the lockers and takes off running. Bobby and Rufus come running to where the Winchesters are.

"I heard a shot," Bobby says.

"Samuel!" Dean shouts before he and Sam take off after Samuel.

"I'm gonna be needing my gun back now, Bobby," Rufus says.

"You think?" Bobby asks sarcastically.

"Yeah," Rufus replies. Bobby looks over at Gracilynn whose holding her arm.

"Ya all right?" he asks her. Gracilynn looks over at him.

"Yeah, let's just go get the guns," Gracilynn says. Bobby nods his head and the three of them make their way over to the locker with the guns. Bobby quickly breaks the lock on the locker and opens it up, pulling out the sack holding the guns.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You know, it was a good plan, except for the part where a monster would definitely, definitely not give up all his weapons," Rufus jabs, grabbing his gun.

"Shut up," Bobby says. Gracilynn reaches over and pulls out her own gun as her dad and uncle walk into the room.

"We lost him," Dean announces.

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asks as he and Dean grab their own guns from the sack.

"We stick together. We got to keep track of this thing, who it's in," Dean says. He looks over at his daughter.

"How's the arm?" he asks, knowing him and Sam smashed it into the locker when Samuel shoved them.

"I'll live," Gracilynn says, checking her clip. Dean studies her for a moment before nodding his head. The hunters leave the room in search of Samuel.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

The group of hunters walk through the cannery, searching for any sign of Samuel. Suddenly, Sam grabs Dean and yanks him back. Dean, Gracilynn, Bobby, and Rufus all point their guns at him. Sam puts his hands in a placating manner.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on. Look," he says, shining his flashlight at a spot on the floor to reveal a trip wire.

"Booby trap," Dean says.

"I'll be damned," Bobby mutters. The group of hunters carefully step over the wire and continue on their way. Sam heads a little ahead of the group and Gracilynn follows him.

"Gracie, stay clo…" Dean begins but is cut off by a door sliding shut, effectively separating Sam and Gracilynn from the rest of the group. Dean rushes to the door. "Hey! Hey!"

"Whoa! Dean!" Sam shouts, going up to the door himself.

"Dad!" Gracilynn yells, standing next to her uncle.

"Sam! Gracie! Damn it. Son of a bitch," Dean says, smacking his hand on the door in annoyance.

"Dean?" Sam asks.

"Dad?"

"Sam! Gracie!" Dean shouts in turn.

"We're gonna go around, okay?" Sam says, looking over at his niece.

"All right. Watch yourselves," Dean says.

"Yeah," Sam responds.

"Gracie?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, I know. Stay with Uncle Sam," Gracilynn says, sharing a knowing look with her uncle.

"Come on," Dean says to Bobby and Rufus before determinedly marching off to meet his brother and daughter.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam and Gracilynn walk around the corner and spot Samuel. Sam instantly raises his gun and aims it at him. Gracilynn follows her uncle's lead.

"Don't move," Sam orders.

"Sam," Samuel replies.

"Put your gun down," Sam orders, making sure Gracilynn is behind him. Gracilynn rolls her eyes and lowers her own gun. There is voices coming from behind them and Gracilynn turns to look but doesn't see her dad anywhere. She pants her uncle on the back to see if he heard it as well. "Go, Smalls."

Gracilynn doesn't wait to be told twice and takes off towards the voices. She raises her gun in front of her, getting ready to use it if she needs to.

"What you gonna do, son? You're not gonna shoot me. You got your soul back. You gonna shoot your own family?" Samuel challenges as Gracilynn leaves the room.

"Yeah, I wouldn't go with the family thing. Try again," Sam says angrily.

"Mary's still my daughter," Samuel says, taking a step closer.

"I said don't move," Sam orders.

"You're still named after me," Samuel tries, taking another step closer.

"I said don't move!" Sam shouts.

"Appears to be our moment, Sam. You still want to know about your summer vacation? I'll tell you all about it. You're dying to know, huh?" Samuel asks.

"Yeah, I am," Sam replies.

"Well, then, let's just put these down and talk," Samuel says, stepping closer.

"Stop," Sam says.

"It's all right, Sam," Samuel assures, stepping closer yet again. Sam pulls the trigger and shoots Samuel in the head.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn makes a turn and walks down the hallway, hearing her dad's voice get louder. He didn't sound too happy with being separated from her and her uncle.

"Dad!" she shouts. The voices stop.

"Gracie?!" Dean shouts in turn. Gracilynn hears her dad's hurried footsteps and he rounds the corner, relief evident in his eyes. It's short-lived though, when he realizes Sam's not there. "Where's Sam?"

"We found Samuel. Uncle Sam's with him. We heard you guys and he sent me to come get you," Gracilynn explains. Dean, Bobby, and Rufus look at her warily. "It's me, I swear. Listen, we don't have time for this. Come on."

Gracilynn is already moving back the way she came and Dean, Bobby and Rufus look at each other, wondering what they should do. Dean makes up his mind and begins following his daughter.

"Wait, Dean. How do we know it's really her?" Rufus asks in a harsh whisper. Dean peers behind him to look at Bobby and Rufus.

"We don't," Dean says, turning back around and hurrying to follow his daughter. Bobby and Rufus share a look and warily follow after them.

As they round a corner, a shot rings out. The four hunters freeze for a moment before they quickly make their way around another corner into the room Sam is in.

"Sam! Sam," Dean shouts. Bobby notices Sam is alive and standing.

"Oh, thank God," Bobby says, relieved. He looks down at the floor and sees Samuel's dead body. "Drop the gun, Sam."

Gracilynn looks from Samuel's dead body up to her uncle's face. Sam carefully puts his gun down.

"It's me," he says.

"Okay. That's great, Sam. Just got to cuff you, uh, till we can be sure, okay? You understand, right?" Rufus says calmly, warily walking up behind Sam and cuffing him.

"It's in him," Sam says, gesturing towards Samuel.

"Are you sure?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think," Sam replies.

"You see anything come out of him...after he dropped?" Rufus asks. Sam's look is all the answer they need. They take Samuel back to the room and swab his ears, but nothing shows up.

"Tell me you got something," Dean says desperately.

"Nothing," Bobby says apologetically.

"What? So - so you mean he wasn't a monster when I ganked him?" Sam asks, guilt written all over his face.

"I'm sure he was Uncle Sam. This is just…a fluke," Gracilynn says, trying to cheer her uncle up.

"One way to find out. Bobby, you got a cranial saw in the car?" Rufus says.

"Of course," Bobby replies.

"You're not going alone," Dean says sternly.

"Oh, no, he won't. He won't. We will both go grab some tools and see about getting some power in this place. And I want you and you to… okay, I want you and you to watch him and him and… all right, if anything crawls out of anybody, somebody step on it," Rufus answers.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll watch Samuel. Dean will watch me," Sam assures.

"And I'll watch all of them," Gracilynn adds.

"Yeah, right," Rufus says, giving the three Winchesters a look before he and Bobby leave the room.

"You did the right thing, you know," Dean says, trying to relieve his brothers' guilt.

"You mean you think I did, if it's in him and I'm me. This thing's playing three-card monte with us," Sam points out.

"Well, I'm just gonna assume you're you," Dean says.

"You want to take this off, then?" Sam asks, motioning with his bonded wrists.

"Not till we get that sucker out of his walnut," Dean says, wanting to be on the safe side.

"I don't know. I mean, I barely remember him, and what I do remember… it's not good. And what he did to us...But..." Sam says, looking at Samuel.

"There's a "but"?" Dean asks, giving Samuel a glare before looking back at his brother.

"I mean, I just can't help but think...What would mom say?" Sam asks.

"You know what I think mom would say? She'd say just 'cause you're blood doesn't make you family. You got to earn that," Dean answers, looking over at his daughter staring at Samuel. Gracilynn feels him looking at her and she looks up, knowing exactly what her dad was saying. The lights pop on and Bobby and Rufus re-enter the room.

"Well...All right. Let's play operation," Rufus says, lugging in the cranial saw.

"You three want to take a breather?" Bobby asks.

"We're good. Gracie, go outside," Dean says. Gracilynn scoffs, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I'm fine," Gracilynn says.

"We're about to crack open your grandpa's grapefruit. Take a breather," Bobby orders this time. Dean gives in and gently pushes his brother and daughter out the door in front of him. Once outside the room, Dean looks over at Gracilynn.

"You really okay?" Dean asks her. Gracilynn looks over at him and sends him a smirk.

"I'm fine dad. It's just another day on the job, right?" she replies.

"Yeah," Dean says. He looks over at her shoulder. "How's the shoulder doing?"

"It's fine," Gracilynn says, noticing her dad's look. There is a bang and Sam and Gracilynn look in the room in time to see Samuel slide something in the handles of the door. "Dad!"

"Dean!" Sam shouts at the same time. Dean turns around to see Samuel up and walking around, heading straight for Rufus. Sam and Dean find themselves at the doors, trying to open them, but can't. Gracilynn pulls out her lock picks and quickly frees Sam's hands. Dean turns to do the same thing only to see his daughter putting her lock picks away and Sam's hands already free. Bobby throws Samuel against a frayed cable and Samuel is electrocuted. The Khan worm slithers out of Samuels' ear. Dean moves Gracilynn back a little and he and Sam kick the door open, the three of them running into the room.

"Bobby, you okay?" Sam asks, seeing Bobby lying on the floor.

"Rufus. Rufus. Rufus. Hey, you all right? Wake up," Dean says, trying to wake Rufus up. Gracilynn searches the ground for any sign of the worm.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. It's all right. I got you. Come on," Sam says to Bobby as he helps him up.

"Come on," Dean says, helping Rufus up.

"This can't be my afterlife 'cause the three of you are here," Rufus says.

"I think you need to learn to count Rufus," Dean says.

"No, I counted right. Don't mind Gracilynn's here," Rufus replies. Gracilynn smirks at the comment and it grows bigger seeing the look on her dad's face. "What happened?"

"Well, when we left, he was dead on the table," Sam replies.

"Yeah, till he wasn't," Bobby adds.

"So how did he get double dead?" Rufus asks.

"Bobby threw him against that. I guess it was a live wire. It shorted, and he went ape. Then that thing crawled out of his ear," Dean says, nodding to the wire.

"At least we know what tickles it. Electricity," Bobby says.

"Yeah. Now the question is, where'd it go? You see?" Sam says, asking Dean.

"No," Dean replies, looking around the room.

"I looked around as soon as we got in here and I didn't see anything," Gracilynn says.

"You two were down for the count," Sam says to Bobby and Rufus.

"Yeah. Well, either it bailed or it's in either one of you," Dean says, looking over at the two older hunters.

"Or, it's in one of you," Rufus counters.

"No, we were awake," Dean replies.

"Did you have eyes on each other?" Rufus asks.

"Yes," Dean answers.

"One hundred percent of the time?" Rufus asks in return. Dean pauses a moment before answering.

"Define 100," Dean says.

"Like I said," Rufus says.

"All right, how about, uh, check for goo, right?" Sam says. The five hunters all check their ears but reveal no goo. "Nothing."

"It might just be gone," Bobby offers.

"No. It might have wised up and covered its trail," Dean says.

"All right, let's settle this...100%," Sam says.

"How?" Dean asks. Sam looks over at the wire and Dean and Gracilynn follow his gaze.

"Well, this is gonna suck," Gracilynn says.

AN: Please review!


	24. Not Even Close

AN: Here's a quick update for ya'll!

Sam strips the cable in his hand and Dean plugs it in. Gracilynn stands off to the side, eyeing the cable. She wasn't going to admit it but she _really_ didn't want to get electrocuted.

"You're live," Dean says, pulling Gracilynn from her thoughts.

"Okay. All right," Sam says. He holds the cable next to Samuel and the group of hunters watch as he is electrocuted. Gracilynn forces a swallow. "Yeah."

"Okay. I'm not a doctor, but I'm gonna go ahead and call this one," Rufus says when no worm crawls out of Samuels ear.

"Yeah. All right, who wants to go first?" Sam asks, making it a point to not look at his niece.

"Come on," Dean says, removing his jacket and handing it to his daughter. Gracilynn takes it from him and drapes it over her arms, crossing them in front of her.

"You sure?" Sam asks, giving his brother a look.

"Hurry up before I start thinking…" Dean begins to say only to be interrupted by Sam holding a cable against his arm. "Son of a...Whew. Awesome. Here, you want me to…"

Dean turns and starts to reach out for the cable to do his brother but Sam has already touched to cable to his arm. Sam lets out a growl as his arm is electrocuted.

"Let's go," Dean says, gesturing to his brother to hand the cable over to him.

"Yep," Sam agrees, handing the cable over to his brother.

"Uh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Uh, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Rufus says as Dean turns to face him.

"No passes, Rufus. Come on," Dean argues.

"I got a damn pacemaker," Rufus counters.

"Well, you better hope it's a good one," Dean says.

"Since when do you got a pacemaker?" Bobby asks Rufus.

"Since Bush Jr., term one. I'm down three toes, too, F.Y.I. All right, come on. Just make it quick," Rufus says, dreading the cable touching him. Dean holds the cable to his arm and Rufus curses. "God! God! Damn it! Damn it!"

"You okay?" Dean asks him.

"No, I'm not okay," Rufus answers as if that is the dumbest question he's ever heard. "Give me that."

Rufus grabs the cable from Dean and turns to face Bobby. Bobby begins to look a little nervous and eyes the cable.

"Okay. All right, my turn. Well, it ain't inside me, so go right ahead," Bobby says, but his body language says the exact opposite and he takes a step back.

"All right, then just stand still, Bobby," Rufus says, giving Bobby a look.

"Okay, sure," Bobby says, then as an afterthought. "Maybe we should have Gracilynn go first."

Gracilynn's eyes widen and Dean and Sam step in front of her, giving Bobby a curious look. No way were they letting her go first. She was only having it done to her as a last resort. Rufus looks over at Dean and Sam and picks up on this blatantly. He turns back around and gives Bobby another look.

"I'll make this quick," Rufus says, stepping forward.

"Okay, yeah. No problem," Bobby says, taking another step back.

"All right? Let's do this," Rufus says, trying to figure out what is wrong with his friend.

"Okay, uh, just a second, Rufus," Bobby says, stopping Rufus before he can put the wire on his arm.

"Just a second nothing, whatever you are," Rufus says, now sure this wasn't his friend.

"I'm Bobby," Bobby says, trying to convince everyone he's really him.

"Bobby, my ass," Rufus says, moving to electrocute Bobby. Bobby swiftly pulls out a knife and stabs Rufus in the chest. Gracilynn jumps, not expecting the attack.

"Bobby!" Sam shouts, catching Rufus and lowering him to the ground. "Rufus."

Dean lunges at Bobby and knocks him out cold. Bobby collapses to the floor and once Dean's sure he's out he looks over at his daughter.

"You okay?" he asks. Gracilynn nods her head and Dean drops to his knees next to Sam and Rufus. He checks for a pulse but doesn't find any and he shares a look with his brother before looking over at his daughter, shaking his head. Gracilynn tenses her jaw, refusing to cry. Dean looks back at Bobby, making sure he's still unconscious. "Gracie, grab a chair. Come on Sam, we gotta get him tied up."

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Gracie, wait outside," Dean says after they finish tying Bobby up to the chair.

"What? No way. I'm fine," Gracilynn argues. Dean looks over at her.

"It's bad enough we have to do this Gracie, you don't need to watch it. Bobby's practically your uncle," Dean argues back.

"Dad…" Gracilynn starts to argue again.

"Come on Smalls," Sam says calmly. "This has nothing to do with whether or not you can handle this."

Gracilynn looks over at her uncle and realizes what he's talking about. She glances at her dad before giving in.

"Fine," she says, stalking out the room and shutting the door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Dean asks his brother. "It had everything to do with her not handling this."

"She's not gonna leave for herself Dean, just like you wouldn't. But if she thinks she's leaving to help us, then she'll go," Sam says. Dean rubs a hand through his hair, knowing Sam's right.

"All right, let's get this over with," Dean says, turning to Bobby.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn sits on the floor against the wall, her knees drawn up and her forehead resting on them. She tried to block out the screams coming from Bobby but they were pretty loud. She could hear him and her dad and uncle talking but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. It didn't matter. What she could hear was torture enough. Being locked out and hearing people she cares about screaming in pain? It brought back too many bad memories. She kept catching herself thinking back to that day she found her mom. Back to when she couldn't help her. And that time when she was twelve and Nick locked her out and all she could hear was…

Gracilynn mentally shakes herself. She didn't need to be going back to that stuff. She finally got rid of the nightmares; no use dredging them back up again. She takes a stuttering breath, trying to calm herself back down.

"Bobby!" Gracilynn's head shoots up, hearing her uncle yell. Without thinking, she jumps up and heads to the door to see her dad and uncle laying Bobby on the ground and starting to do CPR. She wants to go in and help but she's having a hard time moving her feet. Gracilynn closes her eyes, sending out a silent prayer. Images she'd rather not see flash before her and she flings her eyes open. She looks over and sees her dad check Bobby's pulse, pulling his hand away and giving Sam a relieved look. Gracilynn lets out a breath and backs up against the wall, sliding down and mimicking her earlier pose.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"I got to say, I never figured Rufus for the religious type," Dean says as he and Sam and Gracilynn walk up to Bobby. They were in a cemetery standing in front of Rufus's grave.

"Well, he didn't exactly keep kosher. He always used to pull the old 'can't work on the Sabbath' card whenever we had to bury a body. You know, I…I was just a job. I was Joe mechanic. Then my wife got possessed...went nuts on me. I stabbed her, and that didn't stop her. Next thing I knew, this guy comes busting in, soaks her with holy water, and sends that demon straight to hell so fast. I'd have gone away for killing her. But... Rufus cleaned up everything. Taught me a thing or two about...what's really out there. Pretty soon, we were riding together. Worked like that for years, kind of like you two knuckleheads," Bobby replies.

"So, what happened?" Sam asks, glancing at his niece who'd been staring at the grave the whole time.

"It was Omaha. It was my fault. And he never let it go," Bobby answers cryptically.

"Well, he should have," Dean says.

"You don't know what I did, Dean," Bobby counters.

"Doesn't matter," Dean replies.

"What do you mean, it doesn't…" Bobby begins but Dean interrupts him.

"I mean at the end of the day, you three are family. Life's short, and ours are shorter than most. We're gonna spend it wringing our hands? Something's gonna get us eventually, and when my guts get ripped out, just so you three know, we're good. Blanket apology for all the crap that anybody's done all the way around," Dean says, not missing the flinch from Gracilynn when he talks about his guts getting ripped out. _Okay, so probly not the best way to say it with her here_.

"Some of us pulled a lot of crap, Dean," Sam points out.

"Well, clean slate," Dean reiterates, looking at the other three members of his family.

"Okay," Sam says. Bobby pulls out a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue and pours some onto the grave. He raises it to his lips and takes a sip. Seeing Bobby needs some time to himself, Dean and Sam walk away. Dean wraps an arm around Gracilynn's shoulders and guides her back towards the Impala.

"You doin' all right?" Dean asks his daughter, looking down at her.

"I'm fine dad," Gracilynn replies, aggravated.

"All right," Dean says in submission. He looks over at his brother and they both share a look, knowing she's anything but all right. By the time they were able to get Bobby up and the three of them got out of the room, she looked completely freaked out. A car door shutting brings their attention back to the present and Dean and Sam look over to see Gracilynn sitting in the back seat, her head resting on the door, eyes closed. "Guess we're leaving."

"You think she's going to be okay?" Sam asks.

"Not even close," Dean replies, walking around to his side of the car.

AN: Yes, I know, another clue as to Gracilynn's secret about one of her mom's old boyfriends without actually telling what it is… Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	25. It's A Winchester Thing

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Gracilynn bolts up, breathing heavy, the image of her mother's bloody body still seared into her brain. She feels two hands on her and she knocks them off, throwing a punch in front of her.

"Hey, hey, hey," a voice says, dodging out of the way. "It's just me."

Gracilynn clears her foggy vision and looks in front of her. Her dad is sitting on the bed, looking at her warily, waiting for her to throw another punch. Gracilynn forces herself to calm down and seeing she's doing this, Dean relaxes himself.

"You all right?" Dean asks, studying his daughter in front of him.

"'M fine," Gracilynn replies.

"Really? 'Cause you were having a pretty bad nightmare," Dean points out.

"Stupid spider dreams," Gracilynn says off-handedly. Dean looks at her and sees the haunted look in her eyes.

"Never seen you react like that to a spider dream," Dean calls her out. Gracilynn shoots him a glare.

"I'm fine, dad," she says firmly.

"Yeah, sure you are," Dean replies doubtfully.

"You know, bottling it up inside isn't going to help you any," Sam's voice says, coming from the bed next to her. Gracilynn looks over at her uncle, who's sitting up in his bed now, and scowls.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine," Gracilynn replies.

"You keep saying that, yet, no one here believes you," Dean counters.

"Can't you two just drop it?" Gracilynn asks angrily.

"Not when you've only been getting like, two hours of sleep every night since the herpe thing," Dean says.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Gracilynn shouts, yanking her sheets off and frustrated, climbs out of her bed. "I'm fine! So, stop pushing it!"

Dean watches as Gracilynn all but stomps into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Dean sighs and looks over at his brother.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," he says. Sam sighs himself.

"Can you blame her? She does just what you do. Clams up, gets angry, and stomps off," Sam says.

"I do not stomp off," Dean retaliates.

"No, you drive off but she can't very well drive anything unless she takes the Impala can she?" Sam points out.

"Something's going on with her," Dean says, rubbing a hand through his hair and down his face.

"Yeah, I know," Sam says, mimicking his brothers' position, sitting on the side of the bed, feet on the floor and arms resting on his knees.

"No, I mean something more than the whole Bobby thing," Dean clarifies.

"Yeah, but what?" Sam asks.

"Hell if I know," Dean says, sharing a look with his brother.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean glances from the TV to the table where Gracilynn is sitting, looking up something on Sam's computer. Dean looks over at his brother in the other bed to see him pretending to read the book in front of him. He says pretending because he can see Sam studying Gracilynn from overtop the book. Dean looks back over at his daughter, studying her himself. To anyone else, she would look fine. But to him, he could see the tenseness in her shoulders, the exhaustion circles under her eyes, and the sidetracked look she always seems to have on her face. Sam seemed to have picked up on it as well.

"I think I got something," Gracilynn announces, not looking from the computer screen.

"Like what? You sick or something?" Dean asks, sitting up. He doesn't miss the eye roll from his daughter.

"No, dad. I mean, I think I found us a hunt," she says.

"Wait, that's what you were doing on the computer?" Dean asks. He looks over at Sam and sees he has disregarded his book and is listening intently.

"It's a town about an hour east of here. Within the past month five people have died of exhaustion," Gracilynn says.

"Exhaustion?" Sam asks. Gracilynn sighs in frustration and looks over at her dad and uncle.

"Yeah, exhaustion. Like they kept going until they literally dropped dead because they couldn't go anymore," Gracilynn explains. Dean bites his tongue on the sarcastic remark he's about to retaliate with. Did he mention she'd been testy too?

"I guess we could go check it out," Dean says.

"I'm telling you. It's a job," Gracilynn says, grabbing her bag and heading into the bathroom to get ready to leave.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"All right, you two can go talk to the victims' families," Dean says to Sam and Gracilynn. "I'll go meet up with the coroner."

"Wait, you don't want to talk to grieving families?" Sam asks sarcastically. Dean just shrugs his shoulders.

"Yeah, well, now that I don't have to watch your soulless ass all the time, it doesn't matter if I'm there or not," Dean replies, grabbing his coat and heading out the door. Sam and Gracilynn hear him yell back at him. "The coroner is just a few blocks away. I'll leave the Impala."

"You'll let me drive right?" Gracilynn whispers to her uncle. Sam begins nodding but Dean pokes his head back into the room and stares them down.

"You are not allowed to drive," Dean says, pointing at Gracilynn. Then, pointing at Sam, "You are not allowed to let her drive."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam and Gracilynn say. Dean narrows his eyes before disappearing once again, shutting the door behind him this time. Gracilynn looks over at Sam.

"I won't tell if you won't," she says.

"Sounds good to me," Sam says, getting up off his bed and grabbing his clothes.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Okay, so maybe there _is_ something here," Dean admonishes as he walks into the hotel room. Sam and Gracilynn look up at him, Gracilynn looking pleased.

"Told you," she says.

"So, what d'you find out?" Sam asks.

"All of the victims? They all had excruciating amounts of Oxytocin in their blood," Dean says.

"Oxytocin? The hormone produced during sex?" Sam asks, his mind already reeling with what they could be dealing with.

"Yeah, and they all actually died of exhaustion," Dean says.

"So, what could this?" Gracilynn asks.

"You got me," Dean says, throwing his jacket on the chair. Sam already has his computer booted up and is looking in the search engine. "You two find anything?"

"Yeah," Gracilynn says when Sam doesn't say anything, lost in research. "It goes along with your Oxytocin thing. All of the victims' family said that the days leading up to their deaths they were…getting a lot of action."

"Okay," Dean says, "But they were all young men. There was only one female."

"Yeah, but the families? They said the victims' got around but in those few days before they died? They became the energizer bunny," Gracilynn says.

"Her words, not theirs," Sam says from the table.

"Okay, so what? We're looking for a creature? God?" Dean thinks aloud.

"Not sure," Sam says, "I haven't come up with anything yet. I'll keep looking though."

"You do that," Dean says, grabbing his keys. "I'm gonna go grab dinner."

"See if they've got any Cheese Fries!" Gracilynn shouts as her dad exits the room. Gracilynn goes back to flipping through the channels on the TV. Moments later, however, the Impala door opens and shuts once again and determined footsteps are heard walking up to the door. Dean tries to open the door, but realizes he forgot the room key. Instead, he bangs on the door. Gracilynn and Sam look over at each other and share a look.

"Tell me you put the seat back," Sam whispers harshly.

"I thought you did it," Gracilynn whispers just as harshly.

"Why would I do it?" Sam asks.

"Because _you_ were supposed to be driving. It had to be back as if that was the case," Gracilynn whispers back.

"Open the door," Dean demands.

"Yeah, Uncle Sam, open the door," Gracilynn says.

"One direction. One. And you guys can't even handle that," Dean yells through the door.

"I'm not opening the door," Sam whispers. "You open the door."

"He's gonna kick my ass," Gracilynn says.

"He'll _kill_ me," Sam replies.

"Fine. Don't open the door," Dean yells. "But I've got the food. And sooner or later, one of you has to come out."

Footsteps are heard stomping off and a car door opening and shutting. The Impala's engine rumbles and Dean squeals out of the parking lot. Gracilynn and Sam look away from the door and back at each other.

"Why couldn't I drive the Impala again?" she asks, louder now that Dean's gone.

"That's important right now why?" Sam asks.

"Because we have to come up with a good argument otherwise we're both toast," Gracilynn points out.

"I don't know. You weren't grounded were you?"

"Not that I know of. So, I'm gonna say no 'cause dad's pretty good about making it obvious when I am," Gracilynn replies.

"You _have_ been pretty bitchy lately," Sam points out.

"And you guys _have_ been prying lately," Gracilynn says sarcastically, giving her uncle a look.

"We aren't the one who haven't been sleeping. Having nightmares. And is obviously hiding something," Sam throws back.

"That's it!" Gracilynn says, diverting the attention away from at least the last statement.

"What's it?" Sam asks, noticing the topic change.

"Dad didn't want me to drive because I've been so tired lately," Gracilynn says. "Which means, if I had taken a nap…"

"You wouldn't be tired anymore and therefore could drive," Sam finishes, smirking. Gracilynn returns it with one of her own.

"I think we've been around dad too long," Gracilynn says.

"No, I just think it's a Winchester thing," Sam replies.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think! Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	26. Well, That's A Lousy Climax

AN: Delving into the hunt a little more in this chapter. Enjoy!

"You two find anything yet?" Dean asks, walking into the hotel room and setting dinner on the table.

"No, nothing yet," Sam replies. "I've found things that exhaust people to death and things that raise the Oxytocin levels but nothing so far that does both."

"All right. You keep looking, I'm gonna call Bobby see if he can come up with something," Dean says. Sam nods his head.

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Gracilynn sighs to herself. She looks over at the clock, it reading 12:52. Bobby hadn't contacted them back about the job so her dad and uncle had went to the bar, to do research according to her dad. Gracilynn shakes her head. She hated being underage because whenever they went to the bar she got left behind. Although, usually at least one of them came back relatively early. She sighs again. There was nothing on TV and she had nothing to read. She should go to bed but she had a thing about sleeping without both her dad and uncle there. She looks over at the table and, seeing her uncle's computer, she gets up and takes a seat in front of it. She pushes the power button and waits for it to boot up. Suddenly, her phone begins to ring and Gracilynn smirks. It was probably her dad calling to come pick them up because they were too drunk to drive back. She pulls out her phone and answers it.

"Let me guess, your piss assed drunk and you need a chauffer?" Gracilynn asks.

"Your daddy let you talk like that? And why are you still up?" a gruff voice sounds over the speaker. Gracilynn furrows her eyebrows.

"Uncle Bobby?" she asks.

"Yeah. Where's your daddy and Sam?" he asks.

"Uh…they're at the bar," Gracilynn answers. "Why are you calling my phone?"

"'Cause those idjits ain't answering their phones," Bobby answers.

"Really?" Gracilynn asks, surprised at this.

"Listen, I was calling because I'm pretty sure I found what you three are hunting," Bobby says.

"What's that?" Gracilynn asks.

"It's called an Albastor," Bobby begins. "It preys on people who have…well, who have sex…a lot. He increases their sex drive to the point that they die of exhaustion."

"So what? All these people have orgasmic deaths?" Gracilynn asks, typing in 'Albastor' into the computer to pull up any information she can find on it.

"You sure your daddy aint' right there?" Bobby asks, a smile in his voice.

"What else did you find out?" Gracilynn asks.

"That if you sleep with a woman who has slept with an Albastor you get really sick," Bobby answers.

"Well, how the hell are you supposed to know if they have?" Gracilynn asks.

"The woman will have sore spots on her lips," Bobby replies.

"So, you're saying this Albastor dude gives these chicks herpes?" Gracilynn asks, disgusted.

"Yeah, I guess. Something like it," Bobby says.

"Well, who would sleep with a chick who's got herpes? I mean, seriously," Gracilynn says.

"Could be a cold sore," Bobby offers.

"You find out how to kill it?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, you gotta break its pinky finger," Bobby replies.

"It's pinky finger? Really? That's the big climax?" Gracilynn asks, then, smirks, chuckling to herself. Bobby rolls his eyes.

"I think your daddy's been a bad influence on ya," Bobby says.

"Listen, thanks Uncle Bobby," Gracilynn says.

"Anytime kid. Let me know when your daddy and uncle get back," Bobby says.

"I will," Gracilynn says, hanging up her phone. Gracilynn bites her lip. It wasn't like her dad and uncle to not answer their phones, especially when they were on a hunt. She looks over at the clock seeing its 1:17. She grabs her phone and hits her dad's speed dial, waiting for him to pick up. He might not answer Uncle Bobby's call but he's never not answered hers. Well, unless he was in trouble. When the phone goes to voicemail Gracilynn begins to feel the worry ratchet up a notch. She leaves a quick message and hangs up her phone, immediately hitting her uncle's speed dial. When that goes to voicemail as well, she leaves another message and hangs up her phone, putting it on the table. She feels the worry build up some more. She glances at the computer screen, her eyes glancing over the information. They might not do it so much now but before Lisa and when her uncle was soulless, her dad and uncle got around… quite a bit. "Dammit."

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Gracilynn looks up from the computer when she hears a noise in front of the room door. She quietly slips out of the chair and pulls out her gun, quickly hiding behind the door. It was a little after three and she wasn't taking any chances. The lock turns and Sam walks into the room. Gracilynn lets out a sigh of relief and puts her gun away, turning on the main light. Sam spins around and sees his niece standing in front of him, eyebrows raised. Sam grins sheepishly.

"Hey, Smalls," Sam greets.

"Hey, Sasquatch," Gracilynn replies. She looks behind him but doesn't see her dad anywhere. "Where's dad?"

"Uh…not sure," Sam says. Gracilynn's eyebrow raises higher.

"And where were you?" she asks.

"What do you mean? We were at the bar," Sam says.

"Yet you don't know where your brother is," Gracilynn says, calling her uncle out. Sam looks guilty. "Don't tell me you were with a girl."

Sam turns a slight shade of pink and Gracilynn sighs. There's another sound and her dad comes stumbling in through the open door. He looks around and sees his brother and daughter looking at him, one with a guilty look and the other with eyebrows raised.

"Why was the door open?" Dean asks, eyeing the two of them.

"'Cause I just got back," Sam answers.

"Let me guess, you were with a girl too?" Gracilynn asks, already knowing the answer.

"Uh…what? How…?" Dean asks, looking over at his brother and beginning to understand the looks on both his and his daughter's faces.

"Please tell me it was just one," Gracilynn says.

"Dude, what do you take me for?" Dean begins, a guilty look crossing his own features. Gracilynn groans.

"You slept with more than one girl?!" Gracilynn asks. Sam raises an eyebrow and looks over at his brother.

"Hey, if I have two women willing and…" Dean begins but Gracilynn cuts him off.

"Don't finish that. I don't want to know. You've already answered my main question," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam give her a curious look.

"And what's that?" they ask in unison.

"If you two were infected," Gracilynn replies, sitting in front of the computer again. Dean raises an eyebrow and looks over at his brother.

"Infected with what?" Dean asks.

"Uncle Bobby called. He found what we're hunting," Gracilynn answers. "It's an Albastor. It targets people who have a high sex drive and increases it to the point that they die of exhaustion."

"So, they have orgasmic deaths?" Dean asks. Gracilynn suppresses a smile.

"Yeah, basically," she answers. "And it seems you two are its next victims. I mean, you two aren't craving to get down and dirty again are you?"

Dean and Sam wear identical guilty expressions on their faces. Gracilynn nods in understanding. She runs a hand through her hair and glances at the information she gathered while waiting for them to come home.

"Okay, so basically to kill this douchehat we have to break its pinky finger," Gracilynn says.

"Well, that's a lousy climax," Dean says with a smirk. Sam rolls his eyes, noticing Gracilynn's smirk as well.

"Does it ever bother you that you two think way too much alike?" Sam asks them.

"No," they reply together. Sam just shakes his head.

"So, do we know how to find this asshat?" Dean asks.

"All I found was that he's supposed to be some naked guy with long hair," Gracilynn says.

"Oh…well…okay then," Dean says, clearly not wanting to meet up with the guy. Sam and Gracilynn smirk.

"If you're infected, then you prolly already came into contact with him. So, I need you two to think who was at the bar or anywhere else you went," Gracilynn says. Dean and Sam share a look and they begin mentally going through everyone they came into contact with.

"I don't remember anyone with long hair," Sam says.

"Or any guy being naked," Dean adds.

"He's not gonna be naked out in public dad," Gracilynn says, rolling her eyes. "Not in this time period."

"I still got nothing," Dean says, after thinking a moment longer.

"Okay, then, I guess we start looking into the victims' history. Maybe we can find a connection between them," Gracilynn says.

"Yeah, sure," Dean says, fidgeting. "I…uh…I'm gonna go out to the pop machine before we get into that."

"The pop machine?" Gracilynn asks skeptically.

"Yeah," Dean says, already out the door.

"I'll…uh…go grab us some snacks," Sam adds, fidgeting just as much as his brother. He gives Gracilynn a forced smile and disappears out the door as well.

"Yeah, drinks and snacks. I guess I'll see you two in an hour," Gracilynn says, sighing and dropping into the chair she'd been occupying once again.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think of it!


	27. If I Ever Hear the Word Sex Again

AN: It's a short chapter, I know. But I had to end it where I did. The next one will be longer, I promise

Gracilynn walks up to the Art building on the campus in town. After searching for a while and comparing everything she found out about each of the victims, she figured out they all went to the college either as students or teachers. And they were all in majors dealing with Art. Gracilynn opens the door and walks into the building, searching for room 321. It was where Art student's painting, drew, etc. live people. And every Thursday, the people posed naked. So, what better place for a creature who likes to walk around in the form of a naked man than the nude drawing room.

As Gracilynn nears the door, it suddenly opens and a group of students walk out. She grabs the door and holds it open for them, peering inside to see if she can find anyone that matches the description Bobby gave her. Off in the back, Gracilynn picks him up, picking out his long brown hair. At least, she thinks it's a guy. Taking a closer look, she realizes his face is slightly more feminine that it should be, but he had no other characteristics of a woman. If her dad and uncle were drunk, they wouldn't realize he was a guy until they got closer and that's how they probably got infected. The man walks past her, giving her a smile which she returns somewhat forced. Letting go of the door, Gracilynn follows him out of the building, but making sure she was far enough away she wasn't blowing her cover.

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Gracilynn pulls off on the side of the street, seeing the Albastor pull into a driveway of a house. She watches as he exits his car and climbs up the steps to the door, unlocking it and disappearing inside. She pulls out her phone and her finger hovers over the '2' key and sighs, setting her phone back down. She hadn't heard from her dad or uncle since that morning and before that when he and Sam left to get their drinks and snacks yesterday morning. It was now dinner time. She knew the other victims had died after three days so her time was beginning to wear out. Her phone begins ringing and she picks it up seeing it's her father. She presses the answer button and puts it to her ear, keeping an eye on the house at the same time.

"Hey dad," Gracilynn says, "How you holding up?"

"Hey Gracie," Dean replies, sounding exhausted and strained. "Tell me you've figured this thing out. I don't know about Sammy, but I can't keep doing this for much longer."

"I'm pretty sure I've figured out who the Albastor is," Gracilynn answers. "I'm sitting in front of his house now."

"What? You should get backup," Dean says.

"From who? You? Uncle Sam? You two can't keep it in the pants long enough to be my backup. And Uncle Bobby won't get here in time. I have to do this one on my own," Gracilynn argues. Dean sighs, knowing she has a point.

"Just be careful okay?" Dean says.

"I will. Don't worry dad, I got this," Gracilynn assures before hanging up her phone. Gracilynn shoves her phone back in her pocket and climbs out of the car she borrowed, making her way a few houses down to the Albastors' house. She sneaks to the back of the house and quickly picks the lock on the back door, slipping into the house. She pulls out her gun and warily checks out the downstairs, not seeing the Albastor anywhere. There is a sound above her and she sneaks up the stairs, checking out each room she passes. She comes to a closed door and waits, listening. She hears shuffling around from within. She flattens herself up against the wall and very slowly turns the handle of the door. She listens again, still hearing moving around. She slowly opens the door a crack and peeks inside, seeing the guy looking through drawers in his desk. She opens the door a little more and quietly slips inside. She sneaks up behind him and raises her gun, ready to hit him over the head with it to knock him out. Suddenly, he turns around and both his and Gracilynn's eyes grow big.

"Oops," Gracilynn says with a guilty grin, right before she slams the butt of the gun into his face. The Albastor stumbles backwards, holding his nose. He looks up at her, shooting her a glare. Gracilynn moves to hit him again but he blocks it, punching her in the ribs and shoving her into the wall, slamming her gun hand, the gun falling from her hand. "Shit."

Gracilynn knees him in the thigh and stomps on his foot, loosening his grip enough she's able to grab the hand holding hers and wrenching it into a chicken wing lock. The Albastor slams into the floor, his head hitting with a loud crack. Gracilynn sees he's momentarily dazed and takes the opening to grab his pinky finger, wrenching it to the side with a satisfying pop. She gets up and takes a few steps back as the Albastor howls in pain. There is a loud bang and the Albastor explodes in a cloud of black smoke. Gracilynn covers her face, and moves it to the side. When she looks back, there is nothing to acknowledge that the Albastor was even there.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn quickly unlocks the hotel room door and walks inside, looking around but not seeing her dad or uncle there yet. Her face falls slightly, hoping they were there already. She sighs and shuts the door behind her, throwing her jacket on the chair. There is a rumble outside and Gracilynn turns to glance out the window, a smile breaking out onto her face. Two car doors open and close and shortly after, the room door opens as well. Dean and Sam walk into the room looking completely exhausted. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow.

"You guys okay?" she asks, earning a look from both her dad and uncle.

"I take it seeing as how we aren't itching to jump the next girl who walks by you killed the asshat," Dean says.

"Yeah," Gracilynn answers as her dad and uncle throw their jackets on top of hers. They look over at her, both Dean and Sam checking her over. "No problems. I'm fine."

"Good, cause I'm taking a long nap," Sam says, falling onto his stomach on his bed and passing out. Dean drops onto his bed, lying on his back, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"If I ever hear the word sex in any way ever again it'll be too soon," Dean says. Gracilynn snorts.

"Night," she says, lying on her own bed, back against the wall. She turns on the TV and puts the volume low, not that it matters because her dad is already snoring along with her uncle. Gracilynn phone begins to ring and she quickly answers it, not wanting to wake her dad or uncle up.

"Hello?" she says quietly.

"You okay? Why are you whispering?" Bobby's voice says over the line.

"Oh, hey Uncle Bobby. What's going on?" Gracilynn says, raising her voice slightly.

"You get the Albastor all right?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's dead. Dad and Uncle Sam are fine. They're passed out in their beds right now," Gracilynn answers.

"Good, 'cause I was hoping I didn't hafta drive all the way out there to clean up you idjits' mess again," Bobby says, but Gracilynn hears the relief in his voice.

"Come on Uncle Bobby, you don't give us much credit," Gracilynn says. "You definitely should've called last night."

Bobby chuckles.

"You might have a point there kid," Bobby says. "Take care of your dad and uncle alright?"

"I will Uncle Bobby," Gracilynn says and hangs up the phone. _One thing was for sure, her dad and uncle were never living this down_ Gracilynn thinks, a smirk on her face.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	28. Get Your Own

AN: Here's a quick update for ya'll! Enjoy!

"It's here, somewhere. I know it," Sam says, searching through Samuel's office at the Campbell's compound. Dean, Gracilynn, and Bobby are helping him look. Sam moves over to the desk and talks to Bobby. "Help me move this."

Bobby comes over and helps Sam move it to reveal a trap door. Sam opens it and the four hunters share a look.

"I'll be damned," Bobby says. They all climb down the ladder and they look around the room filled with books.

"Welcome to the Campbell family library," Sam announces.

"So, Samuel collected all this stuff, huh?" Dean asks, taking in his surroundings.

"Apparently," Sam answers.

"Wow. All right, well, what are we looking for?" Dean asks.

"Well, anything that'll put a run in the Octomom's stockings. Pick a row," Bobby answers him. The four hunters start grabbing books and begin looking for anything that will help them kill the mother.

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All four hunters are sitting at the table in the middle of the room, each with a book in front of them.

"Bingo," Bobby says. "Either of you jokers ever heard anything about a Phoenix?"

"River, Joaquin, or the giant flaming bird?" Dean asks. Sam gives him a look.

"It says here that the ashes of a Phoenix can burn the mother," Bobby says, reading out of his book.

"The mother?" Sam asks.

"Great. Where do we get one?" Dean asks.

"You got me. I thought it was a myth," Bobby replies.

"All right, great. Well, let's see if we can find something out about a Phoenix," Sam says.

"Well, this is gonna be fun," Gracilynn says, sighing and not looking forward to all the research.

"Here," Sam says, plopping another book on top of the one already in front of her, "Look through this one."

Dean and Bobby chuckle while Gracilynn shoots her uncle a glare.

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" , guys, guys, guys, guys, check this out," Dean exclaims, starting to get excited. Dean walks over to the table where Bobby, Sam, and Gracilynn are and begins to read from the book in his hands. "March 5, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. Gun killed a Phoenix today. Left a pile of smoldering ash."

"Really? Whose gun?" Sam asks.

"Colts," Dean replies.

"Colt? Colt like…" Sam asks.

"…like the Colt. From…" Dean begins, holding up his book showing the front cover with a big grin on his face. "…Samuel Colt's journal."

"What?!" Sam exclaims, his own grin appearing. "That's his?"

"Yeah," Dean answers.

"Dude, no," Sam says unbelievably.

"Dude, yes," Dean says, his excitement getting the better of him as well.

"Well, let me see it," Sam says, making a grab for the book. Dean yanks it out of his reach.

"Get your own," Dean says, leaning back and getting ready to read more. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"Don't you two start geeking out on us or anything," Gracilynn says, earning a snort from Bobby.

"Well, what else did he say about the Phoenix? What does it look like? Has it got feathers?" Bobby asks, getting everyone back on task.

"It just says 'Phoenix'," Dean replies.

"Did he say where he tracked it?" Bobby prods.

"No," Dean answers.

"All right, so I guess we got to find one of our own, whatever it is," Sam says.

"That should be easy," Gracilynn says sarcastically.

"I know where we can find one. March 5, 1861. Sunrise, Wyoming. We'll 'Star Trek IV' this bitch," Dean says. Sam shrugs his shoulders.

"I only watched 'Deep Space Nine'," Bobby adds.

"It's like I don't even know you guys anymore. 'Star Trek IV.' Save the whales," Dean says. Sam and Bobby both shrug. Dean looks over at his daughter.

"Tell me you've watched it," Dean all but pleads.

"I hated Star Trek," Gracilynn says, making a face. Dean looks appalled.

"I…" Dean takes a minute to digest this, closing his eyes. Without opening them, he points at her. "I blame your mother."

"Of course," Gracilynn says as Dean opens his eyes again.

"We hop back in time, we join up with Samuel Colt, we hunt the Phoenix, and then we haul the ashes back home with us," Dean explains.

"Time travel?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah," Dean responds.

"That's a reasonable plan?" Bobby asks.

"Do you really have to ask that question Uncle Bobby?" Gracilynn asks in turn.

"We got a guy who can swing it," Dean says. He stands up and begins praying. "Castiel. The, uh, fate of the world is in the balance. So, come on down here…Come on, Cas, 'I Dream of Jeannie' your ass down here pronto. Please."

An angel appears off to the side in the vessel of a blonde woman. The four hunters notice her and look confused.

"Jeannie?" Dean asks, not sure what to think.

"Rachel. I understand you need some assistance? How can I help you?" she replies.

"Well, uh, we kind of need to talk to the Big Kahuna," Dean replies.

"I'm here on Castiel's behalf," Rachel says.

"Where is he?" Sam asks.

"Busy," Rachel says tersely. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow, already not liking this woman.

"Busy?" Dean asks.

"Yes."

"Well, we've got a line on the mother of freaking everything, so…" Dean begins impatiently.

"I'm sure your issue's very important. But Castiel is currently commanding an army, so…" Rachel says, cutting him off.

"So we get stuck with Miss Moneypenny," Dean says, cutting her off this time.

"So you need to learn your place," Rachel says, annoyed.

"Right, 'cause they only saved the world," Gracilynn mutters. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she looks over to see her uncle giving her a look. She just rolls her eyes, bringing her attention back to her dad and Rachel's conversation.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are…" Dean says, but Rachel cuts him off again.

"I'm his friend," she says.

"What, you think we're not?" Sam counters.

"I think you call him when you need something. We're fighting a war," Rachel argues back.

"We get that," Sam says.

"Clearly you don't, or you wouldn't call him every time you stub your toe, you petty, entitled little pie…" Rachel begins, her anger getting the best of her. Cas appears and cuts her off.

"Rachel. That's enough," he says. Rachel abruptly stops.

"I told you I'd take care of this," she says to Cas.

"It's all right. You can go," Cas dismisses her. Rachel looks surprised at this.

"You're staying?"

"Go. I'll come when I can," Cas replies. Rachel disappears and Dean looks over at Cas.

"Wow. Friend of yours?" he asks.

"Yes. She's, uh, my lieutenant. She's...committed to the cause. Now, what do you need?" Cas asks.

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"Why can't I go?" Gracilynn practically whines.

"Because it's too dangerous," Dean says simply.

"Dude! I just finished a hunt all by myself! To save your asses! But going back in time is too dangerous," Gracilynn says, scoffing. Dean takes a deep breath. He knew this wasn't going to go over very well.

"Gracie listen. I need you here," Dean says.

"No, you _want_ me here," Gracilynn corrects. Dean looks over at his brother, silently asking for help on this one.

"Smalls…" Sam begins but Gracilynn cuts him off.

"Whatever," Gracilynn says, turning around and walking out of the room.

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"Where the hell's Dean?" Bobby asks Sam and Gracilynn.

"Supply run, he said. I don't know," Sam answers off-handedly.

"Um, about your plan. You'll only have 24 hours," Cas says from his spot leaning in the archway.

"Wait, what? Why?" Sam asks.

"Well, the answer to your question can best be expressed as a series of partial differential equations," Cas says. He looks over at Bobby when he starts talking.

"Yeah, aim lower," Bobby says, nodding his head towards Sam and giving Cas a knowing look.

"The further back I send you, the harder it becomes to retrieve you. 24 hours is all I can risk. If I don't pull you home within that time, you'll be lost to me," Cas explains.

"Of course," Gracilynn says sarcastically. Sam looks over at her, giving her a sympathetic look.

"You're angry," Cas says, not sure why.

"No shit, Sherlock," Gracilynn bites out.

"I am not…" Cas begins.

"Don't worry about it Cas, she's just throwing a tantrum Winchester style," Dean says as he enters the room carrying bags from 'Wally's Western World', earning a glare from his daughter. "Only 24 hours?"

"Yes," Cas answers.

"Well, then we better get you a watch," Dean says.

"What the hell's all that?" Bobby asks, noticing the bags.

"We are going native. Got to blend in," Dean says, handing Sam one of the bags. Sam just looks at it.

"Uh, no, thanks. I'm fine," Sam says.

"Sam," Dean says.

"Dean, I can…I can wear this," Sam says, gesturing towards his current clothes.

"And look like a spaceman?" Dean asks.

"Look, just because you're obsessed with all that Wild West stuff…" Sam replies.

"No, I'm not," Dean argues.

"You've seen _every_ western out there," Gracilynn puts in.

"You have a fetish," Sam adds.

"Shut up. I like old movies," Dean counters.

"You can recite every Clint Eastwood movie ever made, line for line," Sam argues.

"Even the monkey movies?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah. Especially the monkey movies," Sam answers.

"His name is Clyde. At least wear the damn shirt," Dean says, holding the bag out again.

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Dean and Sam walk back down the stairs. Sam's wearing a white shirt with embroidered yellow roses on it and Dean's wearing a whole outfit complete with a serape.

"Dean, this is stupid. I look stupid," Sam complains.

"You going to a hoedown?" Bobby asks.

"Now, is it…is it customary to wear a blanket?" Cas asks, confused by Dean's clothes.

"It's a sarape. And, yes. It's, uh... Never mind. Let's just go," Dean says. He notices the gold watches and chains in their bag. "What's this?"

"Where you're goin', they don't take plastic," Bobby explains.

"I'll send you back to March 4th. That should give you time to find the Colt... and this Phoenix creature," Cas says.

"All right, well, see ya at High Noon tomorrow," Dean says with a click of his tongue. He gives Gracilynn a reassuring smile right before Cas touches him and Sam on the forehead and they disappear.

"I have to go," Cas says to Bobby and Gracilynn.

"What about getting my dad and uncle back?" Gracilynn asks.

"Pray for me in 24 hours, and I'll return," Cas tells her and Bobby.

"I'll pray for all of us," Bobby says as Cas disappears. Bobby sets a timer for 24 hours and sets it on his desk. He hears a sigh and looks over to the couch where Gracilynn is slouched down, arms crossed, pouting. "You could help me with…"

"I'm just gonna go for a walk," Gracilynn says, getting up and exiting the room. Bobby sighs knowing he'd just have to wait her out until she got over her little tantrum.

AN: Please review!


	29. I Got Your Back

AN: Thanks to everyone who's been following this story and been reviewing. Love reading them! Oh, and this chapter has some flashbacks in it so those scenes will be in italics.

Bobby looks up from where he's looking through one of his books. Gracilynn is sprawled out on the couch listening to the radio blasting some Rush song. Gracilynn's phone begins ringing and she blindly reaches for it on the floor and answers it.

"Yeah?"

"_Gracilynn?_"

"Ben?" Gracilynn asks in turn, sitting straight up. "What's wrong?"

"_Mom sent me to camp for a couple weeks_," Ben says over the phone.

"Okay…" Gracilynn says, not sure why he's calling her.

"_I tried calling Dean but he hasn't been answering his phone. Gracilynn, I don't know what to do_," Ben says, fear in his voice.

"Ben, what's going on?" Gracilynn asks, feeling her protectiveness rise up.

"_Two kids have gone to the hospital. I think it's a ghost_," Ben answers.

"Ben, what makes you think it's a ghost?" Gracilynn asks, wondering if this is Ben's way of getting Dean back there again.

"_I'm telling the truth. I saw it. He disappeared right in front of me and I saw a picture of the kid in a photo from fifteen years ago_," Ben says. "_You guys have to come here_."

"Ben, dad and Uncle Sam are on a hunt. They can't get there now," Gracilynn says.

"_Gracilynn…I don't know what to do_," Ben says.

"Just…just hold tight, okay. I'll come down there. We'll figure this out," Gracilynn assures. "Where are you?"

Gracilynn grabs a pen and paper and writes down the information, saying goodbye to Ben and hanging up the phone. She shuts off the radio and stands up, Bobby's voice stopping her in her tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bobby asks. Gracilynn turns around, forgetting Bobby was even there.

"Ben's in trouble, I have to go help him," Gracilynn says.

"Without your dad or uncle?" Bobby asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Ben can't wait. He could get hurt by the time they get back and we get out there," Gracilynn argues.

"Then, I'm going with you," Bobby says, standing up himself.

"No, you have to stay…" Gracilynn says, but the appearance of a bloody Cas in Bobby's kitchen interrupts her.

"What the hell is going on?! Cas?" Bobby exclaims.

"Cas!?" Gracilynn yells, running to Cas' side. Cas quickly draws a sigil on a kitchen cabinet.

"Cas? Are we running or fighting?" Bobby asks, ready for either one.

"We're…" he begins but collapses in Bobby and Gracilynn's arms.

"Balls," Bobby curses.

"Son of a…" Gracilynn mutters. The two of them drag Cas over to the couch and lie him down. Gracilynn runs a hand through her hair, biting her bottom lip. She looks up at Bobby. "Bobby…I…"

"Go. I'll stay here and figure this thing out," Bobby says, looking over at her. Gracilynn hesitates but quickly turns around and runs up the stairs to pack her bag.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn pulls the Impala up to the parking lot belonging to the Camp Weona. Her dad was going to ground her for months for taking off with the Impala, but this was an emergency and, truthfully, she didn't really car at this point. She looks out the windshield and takes in the camp in front of her, her mind going back to the time her and her dad were staying with Lisa and Ben.

_Gracilynn shuts her locker and turns around, noticing Ben walking towards her, looking depressed. Gracilynn bites her lip but walks up to him._

_ "Hey, Ben. What's going on?" she asks. Ben looks up and sees who it is._

_ "Nothing," he says. Dean and Gracilynn had only been with them for four months; he wasn't about to divulge his problems on her._

_ "Really, 'cause I've seen funerals happier than you," Gracilynn calls him out. Ben sighs._

_ "There's these guys…" Ben says._

_ "Guys?" Gracilynn prods._

_ "They've just been picking on me is all," Ben explains further._

_ "Well, I could…" Gracilynn says._

_ "No!" Ben says fearfully. "I do not need a _girl_ to fight my battles. I'm not a wuss."_

_ "Okay, but if you need backup or anything…" Gracilynn says, leaving it hanging open. Gracilynn nudges him before separating and heading into her classroom._

Gracilynn sighs and climbs out of the Impala, shutting the door behind her. She walks over to the main office and enters it, noticing a woman sitting at a desk. The woman looks up and, seeing her, smiles.

"How can I help you?" she asks. Gracilynn smiles back, holding up her ID.

"Gracilynn Turner. I'm here on behalf of CPS," Gracilynn says. The woman's eyes grow wide.

"Oh," she says, "Um, let me just go get Mr. Jillings."

Gracilynn nods her head and looks around when the woman disappears through another door. In moments, a tall dark haired man appears and walks over to her.

"Hello, I'm Thomas Jillings. Maurine said you're from CPS?" Jillings says. Gracilynn nods her head.

"Yes, one of the parents of the hurt children has asked us to look into the accident," Gracilynn says.

"Of course…uh…follow me," Thomas Jillings says, leading her into another room. "What can I do?"

"Well, first off, you can tell me what happened?" Gracilynn says in a formal tone.

"Well, from what we gathered…" Mr. Jillings begins.

"So, the kids were unsupervised?" Gracilynn asks.

"It was at night. All of the kids should have been in their bunks. Both of the hurt children had snuck out along with a few others and went into one of the cabins that is closed off. We are fixing it up so it is safe but until then, we have locked it up. Somehow, they got in and were messing around. One of the counselors making their late night rounds walked by and heard screaming. When he walked over, a group of kids ran out. When he looked inside, he saw the two boys on the floor, each with two broken legs," Jillings explains.

"I'm going to need to speak to the counselor and children involved as well as see the cabin they were in," Gracilynn says.

"Of course," Jililngs says, nodding his head.

"And I will be observing the camp for a few days as well," Gracilynn says. Jillings looks nervous but nods his head anyways. He grabs a paper and pen and writes down the names of the kids and the counselor.

"Tate should be in the mess hall right now. The kids are in cabins one, two, and four," Thomas explains, handing her the paper.

"Thank you," Gracilynn says, taking the paper from him and standing up.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn looks around the camp, finally seeing Ben off to the side near one of the buildings. She had just finished talking to the counselor, Tate, and the other kids involved. From what she found out, she was pretty sure this was a ghost as well. Gracilynn begins walks towards Ben, noticing he's nervous.

_Gracilynn catches up to Ben in the parking lot, noticing he's looking worried and nervous. She furrows her eyebrows, wondering why he would be like this. She sidles up next to him and looks over, taking in his posture, not overlooking the fact he's holding his stomach._

_ "You feeling okay?" she asks._

_ "I'm fine," he says._

_ "You sure? 'Cause you're holding your stomach and your face looks like you're in pain," Gracilynn calls him out yet again._

_ "It's nothing," Ben counters. Gracilynn sighs and swerves in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. She looks him in the face and can see that whatever's going on is most definitely not nothing._

_ "Ben…" she says. Ben sighs, rolling his eyes._

_ "Those guys I've been having trouble with hit me today," Ben reluctantly admits. _

_ "What?" Gracilynn says angrily._

_ "I tried to stop them. And I didn't start it," Ben says, mistaking her anger for him and not the boys who hit him._

_ "I figured that," Gracilynn says, "Who are they?"_

_ Ben looks up at her and really takes her in. He had seen that look on her face before, only it wasn't on her, it was on Dean only four years ago. He realizes her anger is directed at him but instead, the kids who've been bullying him. _

_ "Gracilynn, really, just leave it alone," Ben says._

_ "What are you going to tell your mom and my dad?" Gracilynn asks, seeing the look of fear on his face._

_ "No! We're not telling them anything."_

_ "Ben, they have to know. You can't keep this from them," Gracilynn says._

_ "I'll handle it myself," Ben says, walking past her towards their bus. Gracilynn sighs but follows after him anyways._

"Hey, kiddo," Gracilynn says as she walks up to Ben. Ben looks up and sees her, giving her a slight smile.

"Hey," Ben replies.

"So…uh…you didn't tell me you were there when those two kids got hurt," Gracilynn says, an eyebrow raised.

"No one was supposed to get hurt," Ben says. Gracilynn waits for him to continue. "We were just going in there to check it out, you know, have some fun with no one else around."

"Okay, well, we need to find out who the kid is and then where he's buried," Gracilynn says. "Can you show me the picture you saw him in?"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

_"Ben are you okay?" Lisa asks, noticing Ben cringe when he bends down to pick up the book he dropped on the floor._

_"I'm fine mom," Ben says._

_ "You sure?" Dean asks, having noticed the same thing Lisa did. "'Cause you seem like you're in pain or something."_

_ Gracilynn watches them, waiting to see what Ben was going to do after Lisa and her dad called him out. Ben hesitates, not wanting to tell them what had happened at school._

_ "It's…" Ben starts, but can't come up with a good enough lie on such short notice. Gracilynn silently sighs. _

_ "It's my fault," Gracilynn says. Dean and Lisa look over at her, curious._

_ "What do you mean it was your fault?" Dean asks._

_ "I threw a ball at him but didn't realize he wasn't paying attention. It hit him in the stomach," Gracilynn says. Dean and Lisa turn to look at Ben._

_ "Ben, sweety, why didn't you just say that?" Lisa asks him._

_ "I…I didn't want Gracilynn to get in trouble," Ben answers._

_ "She's not going to get into trouble. It was an accident," Lisa says._

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Okay, so Gregory Nurch, Age 14, was killed in Cabin 15. I guess a group of boys were bullying him and dragged him into the cabin. Beat him till he died. He had both legs and arms broken, his nose, his face looked like hamburger meat, among other things," Gracilynn says, reading off of her computer. Thank God the camp had WiFi access. Gracilynn looks over at Ben who seems pretty tense. She bites her lip, knowing this case is hitting close to home, for the both of them. Gracilynn looks back at the screen and reads on, seeing if she can find any other information they could use, like where the kid was buried. "Okay, so it doesn't say where he was buried so it looks like I'm going to have to go talk to his parents."

Ben's head whips around towards her, eyes wide.

"You're leaving?" Ben asks. Gracilynn looks over at him.

"I'll be right back. I can't kill this ghost until I find out where he was buried," Gracilynn says. "Just…stay away from the cabin, okay?"

"Okay," Ben says, nodding his head, clearly not liking the fact Gracilynn was leaving. Gracilynn gives him a smile and rests a hand on his shoulder, giving him a slight squeeze.

"I got your back, you know that right?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, I know," Ben answers.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

_Gracilynn walks around the corner and notices a group of boys gathered around something, jeering each other on. She narrows her eyes and begins walking towards them. She tries to peer inside the circle and when she does, she feels the anger rise up. Inside the circle is Ben and it looks as if he'd been hit in the face already. She quickly and determinedly walks over to the group._

_ "Hey!" she yells. The group of boys turns around and looks over at her, smirking._

_ "You should mind your own business," the obvious leader says. _

_ "Funny, cause he _is_ my business," Gracilynn says, putting her bag on the ground._

_ "Gracilynn," Ben says, but Gracilynn ignores him. The leader smirks and then swings a punch at him. Gracilynn blocks it and slams her fist into his face. The kid stumbles back and glares at her. He charges at her again and she sidesteps him, shoving him to the ground. He climbs to his feet and she hits him in the face once again. She turns and sees the other boys are already gone. She looks over at Ben, his eyes wide._

_ "Come on, let's get outta here," she says, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. Ben picks up his own bag and Gracilynn grabs his arm leading him towards the sidewalk. They had missed their bus so they had to walk home._

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	30. That's Debatable

AN: Here's another quick update for ya'll! Enjoy!

"You gotta send us back," Dean says to Cas, standing up from his spot on the floor, still in his cowboy outfit.

"Dean, look at him. He's fried," Sam says, noticing Cas won't be able to do it.

"I never want to do that again," Cas says.

"Bobby, You…" Dean starts, looking over at Bobby.

"I'm still kickin', Annie Oakley. Be back good as new in...A decade or two," Bobby cuts Dean off.

"And we screwed the pooch. Bobby, I'm sorry," Dean says apologetically. There's a knock on the front door and the group turn to look in that direction. Sam walks out of the room to answer the door. Dean looks around the room, noticing someone is missing.

"Hey, Bobby?" Dean asks. Bobby looks over at Dean.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Gracilynn?" Dean asks. Before Bobby can answer, Sam walks back into the room holding a package. He sets the package down and opens it up, reading the letter that's inside.

"'Dear Sam, I got this address and date off your thingamajig, and I thought the enclosed might come in handy. Regards, Samuel Colt'." Sam pulls a bottle of ashes out of the box and holds it up.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bobby asks, eyeing the bottle.

"Ashes of a Phoenix. You know what this means?" Dean says.

"Yeah, I didn't get a 'soulonoscopy' for nothing," Bobby replies.

"Yes. And... it means we take the fight to her," Dean says. Dean looks around and his previous observation comes back to him. "Bobby, where's Gracilynn?"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn pulls the Impala up to the Graveyard and parks. She climbs out and goes to the trunk, taking out the bag and a shovel. She looks around but doesn't see anyone else, so she hurries into the cemetery.

Finally, Gracilynn finds the grave she's looking for fifteen minutes later. She looks around once again. Still not seeing anyone else around, she puts the lantern flashlight on the ground and begins digging. And hour later, she hits something hard. She scrapes off the coffin and opens it up, wrinkling her nose and the stench. She climbs out of the hole and grabs the salt and gas can. The wind picks up and she freezes, turning around. She doesn't see anything. She turns back around and pours the salt and gas onto the bones and sets them back in the back. There's a heavy breeze once again and this time, when Gracilynn turns around there is a kid next to her.

"Son of a Bitch," she mutters, raising her shotgun right before she's thrown across the grass. She lands on the ground, hard. In the background, she hears her phone begin to ring but ignores it; she has more pressing matters on hand. She moves to climb up only to feel something kick her ribs. She lets out a groan and feels a sharp pain in her left arm. "Freakin' hell."

Gracilynn reaches for the shotgun and aims it, hitting the ghost. The ghost dissipates and Gracilynn climbs to her feet, hissing at the pain in her arm. She quickly makes her way back to the grave, cradling her arm against her body, and grabs the lighter. She flicks it on as she hears her phone begin ringing once again and tosses it into the grave, lighting the bones. There is a screech and Gracilynn cringes. She packs up all of her things and rushes back to the impala, throwing the bag and shovel back into the trunk.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"She what?!" Dean asks, angry and worry evident in her voice.

"She went on a hunt to help a friend," Bobby explains carefully.

"Where?" Dean asks.

"Camp Weona," Bobby asks. Dean's eyebrows furrow; the name sounded familiar. Suddenly, it hits him.

"Wait, what friend?" he asks.

"Ben," Bobby answers. "He had tried calling you but you weren't answering, obviously. So he called Gracilynn and she took off."

"And you let her?!" Dean asks.

"We had no other choice. I was gonna go with her but Cas showed up," Bobby says.

"Dammit!" Dean says loudly.

"Bobby, what was the hunt?" Sam asks.

"A ghost was attacking kids at the camp. Two kids were already in the hospital," Bobby explains.

"She shouldn't have gone," Dean says, pulling out his phone. He hits a button and puts it to his ear. He waits a little while but it just goes to voicemail. "And now, she's not answering."

"There's probly a good explanation," Bobby says.

"There'd better be," Dean growls, hitting his daughters' speed dial once again. It goes to voicemail once again. "Gracilynn, answer your damn phone."

Dean hangs up, his jaw tense. He hesitates for a moment but then makes a decision. "I'm going after her."

Dean puts his phone away and walks out of the room.

"Dean, wait up," Sam calls out, taking off after his brother. Bobby stands and waits. He doesn't have to wait long before he hears an expletive shout and the front door opening and banging shut. Dean appears back in the room with Sam trailing after him, a worried expression on his face.

"The Impala? She took the Impala?!" Dean asks.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"So, you're leaving?" Ben asks, looking over at Gracilynn who's sitting next to him on the bench.

"Yeah," Gracilynn answers. "Listen, take care of yourself and your mom okay?"

"I will," Ben replies.

"If you need anything call," Gracilynn adds, standing up. "I'll see you around kiddo."

"See ya," Ben says, giving Gracilynn a hug. Gracilynn returns it, giving him a squeeze. She hears her phone begin ringing again and she pulls away, taking her phone out of her pocket, seeing it's her dad calling. Gracilynn sighs and gives Ben a look. "You didn't tell Dean you were coming here did you?"

"No," Gracilynn says, laughing nervously. "I gotta go…get reamed out."

"Bye," Ben says. Gracilynn gives him a grin and walks back to the Impala and gets into the drivers' seat. She hits her dad's speed dial and puts it to her ear, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean hangs up the phone, slamming his thumb onto the 'end' button. Sam, Bobby, and Cas all watch him warily.

"What?" Dean grinds out. The other three men just shake their heads. Dean phone begins ringing and he looks at the caller ID. "It's about freakin' time."

Dean hits the 'call' button and puts the phone to his ear.

"You better have a damn good reason why you haven't been answering my phone calls. And an even better reason why you went off on your own to do a hunt. And an even better reason than that for taking my car," Dean demands.

"_Hey, dad_," Gracilynn says. "_Um…well first, Ben was in trouble and I was the only one who could help him_."

"That's debatable," Dean says. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"_And secondly, I was busy getting rid of a ghost when you called the first few times and just now, I was talking to Ben_," Gracilynn explains further.

"And my car?"

"_Yeah, I don't have a good excuse for that except the fact that you weren't around to drive it and I needed a vehicle so…"_ Gracilynn says, figuring the truth was best.

"When you get your ass back to Bobby's, you're grounded. Forever," Dean says, hearing a beep come from his phone. "Where are you?"

"_Still at the camp. I'll be back by morning_," Gracilynn says.

"If you're not, I'm hunting you down," Dean says, looking at his screen and reading the text.

"_Yeah, I know_," Gracilynn says. "_See ya dad_."

"Hey," Dean says, stopping his daughter before she hangs up.

"_What?_"

"You okay?" Dean asks.

"_I'm fine dad_," Gracilynn says.

"Really? You sure about that?" Dean asks.

"_Yes, dad I'm fine_," Gracilynn replies.

"Really, 'cause Ben just texted me saying you were holding your arm funny," Dean calls her out. Gracilynn sighs.

"_I don't think it broken, but it's prolly fractured_."

"Newsflash, a fracture is a break," Dean says.

"_Dad…_" Gracilynn says.

"Get here so we can get it looked at," Dean says, hanging up his phone.

AN: Please review! Oh, and I've finally been able to start fixing my stories. I've gotten the first 15 done from Bring It On Home. Nothing you'd have to go back an reread (unless you wanted to :D) but separations are now visible and I've fixed stupid errors. Thanks for reading!


	31. Beggars Can't Be Choosers

AN: I'm really busy this weekend between graduation parties and my sisters' grad party too. Not sure how much I'll be able to write. Anyways, enjoy!

Dean and Gracilynn are downstairs in Bobby's basement. Dean's making shotgun shells with the Pheonix ashes, the bottle sitting on the table empty. Gracilynn's sitting in a chair, her homework on one part of the table. Sam and Bobby walk down the stairs and over to where they are. Sam pats Gracilynn on the shoulder.

"How's the arm doing?" he asks. Gracilynn looks over at her left arm which is in a cast.

"Just great," she says, looking up at her uncle and giving him a smile.

"Good," Sam replies, then, looks over at Dean. "Hey. How you doing?"

"Five shells. That's how I'm doing," Dean replies, irritated. Sam sighs.

"Well, you know, it's a hell of a lot more than what we had last week," Sam returns.

"Maybe," Dean says.

"Meaning?" Bobby asks.

"Meaning I just had myself a little mishap a few minutes ago, and, uh, well, here, look," Dean says, taking some of the phoenix ash and rubbing it on his arm.

"Whoa," Sam says, but nothing happens to Dean's arm.

"Huh," Bobby says.

"I mean this stuff is supposed to burn the bejeezus out of Eve, doesn't even give me a sunburn," Dean says.

"Lore says it works," Bobby returns.

"That's always reliable," Dean counters.

"Well, you know what? Maybe it's like, uh…maybe it's like iron or silver. You know? Hurts them, not us," Sam offers.

"Maybe, but a fat lot of good it does us 'til we find the bitch," Dean says.

"I'm looking, but I'm thinking maybe it's time you made a call," Bobby says. Dean gets up and walks across the room to wipe off his arm. He turns around to face the others.

"Why has it always got to be me that makes the call, huh? It's not like Cas lives in my ass. The dude's busy," Dean argues. Gracilynn snorts, seeing Cas appear directly behind her dad. Dean turns around, surprised to see Cas there. "Cas, get out of my ass!"

"I was never in your…" Cas begins but Dean gives him a look. "Have you made any progress in locating Eve?"

"Well we were gonna ask you about that," Bobby replies.

"No, I've looked, but she's hidden from me. She's hidden from all angels," Cas says.

"Awesome," Dean says sarcastically.

"You know, what we really need is an inside man," Sam says.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks.

"Something with claws and sympathy," Sam explains.

"Like a friendly monster?" Gracilynn asks. Sam shrugs.

"Those are in short supply these days, don't you think?" Dean returns.

"Sure, but we've met one or two, right?" Sam asks in turn.

"Maybe," Dean says, thinking.

"So we can find one," Sam says positively.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sometime later, Bobby is pacing with a book in his hands, Dean is leaning against the wall, thinking, and Gracilynn is sitting on the floor, bouncing a ball she found against the wall. Cas suddenly appears with Lenore. He reaches out and catches the ball Gracilynn had just thrown.

"Cas," Gracilynn says, noticing him standing there.

"Lenore," Sam says, noticing who's with him. Lenore looks at all of them and turns around, trying to run away from them.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hey, hey. Lenore, stop. Look, we're happy you're here," Sam says, running after her and stopping her.

"Been a long time. You remember us?" Dean asks.

"I remember. Your hunter friend almost killed me," Lenore says.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, uh, he turned into a vampire and I chopped his head off," Sam offers.

"Yeah. With razor wire. Wicked," Dean says like the proud brother he is. Sam gives him a look and Dean wipes off his smirk.

"Well, that's something. What's going on? Why am I here?" Lenore asks.

"Well, um, that's Cas," Sam says, pointing at Cas. "He's our friend."

"This is Gracilynn," Dean says, pointing at his daughter. "My daughter."

"And we need to talk to you. About Eve," Sam says.

"Eve? I have nothing to say about Eve," Lenore says.

"You sure about that?" Dean asks.

"I'm trying to stay away from her, believe me," Lenore replies.

"Where's your nest?" Sam asks.

"Gone. They couldn't fight it anymore. It's her voice, in our heads. What it does to us. So they left. Started killing again," Lenore explains.

"But not you," Sam says, impressed.

"Don't look so impressed. I was hiding in a basement. Not exactly Club Med. You don't know how hard it is…not to give in. Everyone gives in," Lenore counters.

"Alright, so this psychic two-way you've got going, does that mean you know where Mom's camped out?" Dean asks.

"You've got to be kidding me. You want me to tell you where she is? You do know she could be listening to us right now. I might as well be a video camera. What are you thinking?" Lenore asks, annoyed.

"So we don't have the element of surprise, we're still going in," Bobby replies.

"You're crazy. I can't help you," Lenore says.

"Can't or won't? Look, it's clear as day. You still give a crap. You don't wanna kill. And don't want this whole planet dead," Sam counters.

"You actually believe you can stop her?" Lenore asks.

"Just tell us where she is," Sam replies.

"Grants Pass, Oregon. And now she knows you're coming," Lenore says.

"Well let's go see," Bobby says.

"Hold on. I didn't tell you this out of the goodness of my heart. I need something," Lenore says, stopping them in their tracks.

"What?" Sam asks.

"Kill me," Lenore responds.

"Lenore," Sam says, not wanting to do this.

"Look, we'll lock down down 'til this whole thing's over, okay? Witness protection, you'll be safe," Dean says, not wanting to kill her either.

"You don't get it, it's not about that. I'm dangerous. I hear her voice all the time," Lenore argues.

"You're not like the rest of them," Sam argues back.

"I'm exactly like them. I fed. I couldn't help it. The girl couldn't have been more than 16, Sam. Around your daughter's age Dean. I'll do it again. I can't stop, not anymore. You have to. Please," Lenore says.

"Lenore," Sam says again. Cas comes up behind her and touches her head. A bright light shines out of her eyes and mouth and her face flames up, ending in her death. Lenore's body falls to the floor.

"We needed to move this along," Cas says, right before he teleports them to a pavement in Grants Pass, Oregon. The hunters look around them seeing some children riding their bikes and the sun out.

"Well, I was expecting more Zombieland, less Pleasantville," Dean says.

"Which is just as creepy," Gracilynn says. Dean looks over at her. "I mean, have you actually seen the movie?"

Dean nods his head and shrugs his shoulders, thinking she had a point.

"Just because it looks quiet, don't mean it is, especially if she's got a clue were coming," Bobby says.

"Which is exactly what happened in Pleasantville," Gracilynn adds her two-sense in.

"Yeah, well if she is here I'm glad we've got Smitey McSmiterton on our squad. Alright, where do we start?" Dean says.

"I'm gonna need a computer," Bobby says, walking off and the others following after him.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

The group is sitting at a six-person booth in Ervin's Diner. Castiel is sitting next to Sam and Gracilynn is sitting between Dean and Bobby. Bobby is using an iPad to look up information while Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn are eating.

"Alright. I finally got the police database, no thanks to this," Bobby says, gesturing to the iPad. "I asked for a computer."

"It is a computer," Sam says.

"No, a computer has buttons," Bobby says.

"He's got a point Uncle Sam. That's not technically a computer. It's an iPad. Which is different," Gracilynn says, earning a snort from her father. Sam just gives her his Bitch-face.

"Can I get you anything else?" the waitress asks.

"No, we're good thanks," Dean replies, giving her a friendly smile.

"Anything?" Sam asks, steering them back to the task at hand.

"Oh, nickel and dime stuff, nothing weird," Bobby answers, reading an article on a Meth lab. "Basically dead end. You think Vampira was lying?"

"I'll search the town. Give me a moment," Cas says. Nothing happens and he's still sitting in front of them. Gracilynn raises an eyebrow.

"Cas, we can still see you," Dean says.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Cas agrees.

"Okay, well you don't have to wait on us, you…" Dean starts but Cas interrupts him, clearing his throat. Cas closes his eyes and strains. Dean makes a face and Gracilynn tries to cover a chuckle. "Well now it just looks like you're pooping."

Gracilynn snorts and tries to control her laughter, not sure why she's finding this whole ordeal so funny.

"Something's wrong," Cas admits.

"What? Are you stuck?" Dean asks.

"I'm blocked. I'm powerless," Cas answers.

"You're joking," Dean says, not believing their luck.

"Something in this town, is, uh, it's affecting me. I assume it's Eve," Cas replies.

"So wait, Mom's making you limp?" Dean asks.

"Figuratively, yes," Cas answers.

"The fact that _that_ is the reference he gets tells me he's been hanging around dad too long," Gracilynn whispers to Bobby. Bobby smirks, silently agreeing with her.

"How?" Dean asks.

"I don't know, but she is," Cas replies.

"Well, that's great, because without your power, you're basically just a baby in a trenchcoat," Dean says, irritated. Cas looks upset and stares out the window.

"I think you hurt his feelings," Sam whispers to his brother.

"Aw, its' okay Cas, _I_ still appreciate you," Gracilynn says with a smile.

"Suck up," Dean says.

"I got something here, maybe," Bobby says, finding a new story on the iPad. "Had to go federal go to get it. Call went out from the local office to the CDC last night."

"About what?" Sam asks.

"A Dr Silver called in an illness he couldn't identify. Patient's a 25 year old, African-American, name …Ed Bright," Bobby explains, pulling up a picture of Ed's license and showing it to the rest of the group.

"Well that's not much to go on," Dean points out.

"Well it's our only lead, so…" Bobby returns.

"So beggars can't be choosers, right? I get it. Alright, let's finish up," Dean says.

AN: Please review!


	32. Jefferson Starships

AN: Okay so the last chapter and this chapter I watched and wrote after watching about 7 angsty episodes so I was finding certain lines and actions 3x as funny as they were. I mean they were funny just not as funny as I was making them out to be. And it shows through Gracilynn so I'm sorry Enjoy!

An older blond-haired woman is locking up a doctor's office when Dean, Gracilynn, and Cas approach.

"Excuse me. Hi, uh, i-is Dr. Silver in today?" Dean asks, pointing at Cas when he resumes speaking. "My friend is very sick."

"I have a, uh, painful burning sensation," Cas supplies, trying to come up with something. Dean gives him a look and Gracilynn disappears behind her father, not being able to hide her laughter. Dean feels her rest her forehead on his back and her whole body shake from trying to keep silent. Dean gives the woman a smile.

"Oh, well, he's out. Sorry," the woman replies.

"Do you happen to know here he is?" Dean asks, nonchalantly swatting at his still laughing daughter behind him.

"He hasn't called in. You might want to find yourself some ointment," the woman says, aiming the last statement at Cas before walking off. Gracilynn snorts behind her father, her face still buried in his back.

"You alright back there or do you need another minute?" Dean asks. He feels the shaking lessen and Gracilynn appears next to him, a smile on her face still. Dean raises an eyebrow and looks at her. "You drunk or something?"

"What? No," Gracilynn says. Dean's eyebrow raises a little more. "What? I can't be in a good mood?"

"Well, yeah…I guess," Dean says, not sure what's changed his daughter mood. He shrugs it off and looks over at the doctors' office. "What kind of doctor calls the CDC and then goes AWOL the very next day? Let's have a look, shall we?"

Dean kneels down and begins working on the lock. Cas looks around, clearly bored. He looks over at Dean's progress before speaking.

"Is this gonna take a long time?" Cas asks.

"Well, you could always zap inside and unlock it for us," Gracilynn says.

"I am unable to do…" Cas says looking over at Gracilynn who's wearing a smirk and Cas gives her a look, realizing she's mocking him. Dean smirks to himself, glancing back at his daughter. As he does so, his eye catches something and he stops.

"What is it?" Cas asks, noticing Dean's lack of action. Dean walks a few steps away and bends down, touching a drop of liquid on the ground. He looks at it, seeing its blood, and shows Cas and Gracilynn. He notices a door to a shed that has blood on the lock. He walks over, breaking it open and opening the door. Inside there's a body wrapped in plastic. Dean pulls the plastic away and the three of them realize its Ed.

"Oh," Dean says.

"It's the patient Ed Bright," Cas announces.

"Well what kind of doctor calls the CDC and then stashes the gooey corpse in the shed?" Dean asks.

"The same kind of doctor that calls the CDC, stashes the gooey corpse in the shed and disappears," Gracilynn answers, referring back to her dad's earlier statement.

"I don't understand what's happening here," Cas says.

"Well, I know one thing about the body. We need some kerosene," Dean replies.

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"Oh. So we've got a missing doctor and an oozy patient, huh?" Dean asks. Sam and Bobby had just met them at Ed's house and had finished telling them what they found out at the doctor's house.

"Yeah. Plot thickens," Sam replies.

"Well let's go see what Ed's roommates have to say," Dean says.

"Does Ed Bright have a brother?" Cas suddenly asks.

"No, why?" Bobby replies.

"Then that's not his twin," Cas says, nodding to the house. The other hunters turn and look and see someone who looks exactly like Ed in the window.

"So what, shifter?" Sam asks.

"I don't know what we're looking at," Bobby says at a loss for words.

"Alright, Dean and me are gonna go in. You two stay here and watch the door. If something comes out, shoot it," Sam says.

"Yeah. Best guess - silver bullets," Dean adds.

"I'm fairly unpracticed with firearms," Cas says as Dean hands him a gun.

"You know who whines? Babies," Dean says to Cas. As Dean and Sam walk towards the house Dean leans in towards Gracilynn. "Help him out would ya?"

"Sure dad," Gracilynn answers. Dean breaks the door in and the two brothers burst inside, their guns at the ready. Gracilynn looks back at Cas and sees he's uncomfortably looking at the gun in his hand. She walks over to him and gives him a smile. "Just point and shoot Cas. You can practice later."

"I don't think I'll have any use for this later," Cas says, raising the gun slightly.

"Well, you never know," Gracilynn replies. Cas looks over at her, studying her.

"How old were you when you first shot a gun?" Cas asks suddenly.

"Wh…What?" Gracilynn says, thrown off-guard by the question. Bobby glances over at them, noticing the change in Gracilynn almost instantly.

"Well, you were what? Fifteen?" Cas asks.

"Uh…Yeah…I mean dad taught me," Gracilynn says. Cas tilts his head, looking like a puppy studying it's owner.

"You were younger," Cas says. Gracilynn's head snaps over to him. Bobby's eyes narrow. Gracilynn forces a swallow.

"Uh…yeah…I was…I was twelve," Gracilynn stutters out.

"Why d'you have shoot a gun at twelve?" Bobby asks. Judging by Gracilynn's body language he knew it wasn't for anything good.

"I…uh…Oh look, dad and Uncle Sammy are coming out," Gracilynn says, noticing her dad and uncle and jumping at the change of subject.

"I don't get it. What, a bunch of regular Joes wake up shifters? What the hell?" Dean says as he and Sam join up with the others back at the cars.

"Shifters usually run in families. This looks like an infection. Nobody touched nothing?" Bobby asks.

"Well I am bathing in Purell tonight," Dean announces.

"So, he said they met a girl," Sam says, steering the conversation back on track.

"It's got to be Eve," Dean says.

"But why would she do this?" Cas asks, thinking about everything that's been going on in town.

"Mommy monster…make more," Bobby offers.

"No, no, no, no. Cas has got a good point. I mean if she's gonna make a shifter army, why make one that's sick, gooey and dying?" Dean asks.

"Add that to the pile of Crap That Don't Make Sense," Bobby says, shrugging.

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to be sick, gooey and dying," Gracilynn supplies. The group of hunters think about this. Sam's the first to speak up.

"So should we hit the bar?" Sam asks.

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The three Winchesters, Bobby, and Cas walk into the bar and look around. There are dead bodies everywhere.

"Well, the Sheriff's a moot, but still. You'd think he'd notice this many missing folks," Bobby says. Dean approaches one of the bodies and kneels down. He takes out a cloth and lifts its' lip to reveal a set of vampire teeth.

"We got a vamp over here," Dean says, then, notices something on its' arm. He lifts the arm and sees a spike protruding from its' wrist. "Nope. Scratch that. We got a wraith. What the hell? What has teeth and a spike?"

"Well, this one's got werewolf teeth and a spike," Gracilynn says kneeling down and peering at another body. Dean's and Sam's heads shoots up and sees this.

"Hey, don't touch anything," Dean demands as Sam grabs her and pulls her away. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.

"Dude, I wasn't going to," she says, annoyed.

"Never seen that in my life," Bobby says, trying to hide a smirk.

"Oh, great. So Eve's making hybrids now?" Dean asks sarcastically.

"Looks like," Bobby replies.

"Yeah, the question is why. I mean what does she want with the…what do you call these?" Dean responds.

"Well, congrats. You discovered it. You get to name it," Bobby says. Dean thinks about it for a second, looking at them, before replying.

"Jefferson Starships," Dean says. Gracilynn snorts, a smirk on her face. Sam and Bobby just look confused. "Huh, because they're horrible…and hard to kill."

"Looks like the whole bar has been turned into these…" Sam begins, not wanting to call them Dean's name for them.

"Jefferson Starships," Dean supplies.

"Fine. But why are all the... Starships dead?" Sam asks.

"I can't say, but looks like they all burned up," Bobby answers.

"Burned up, like?" Dean asks.

"Like a high fever, like the flu," Bobby replies.

"What the hell's going on here? Does every monster in this town have the motaba virus?" Dean asks. Suddenly, the doors burst open and the Sheriff and three cops enter with guns.

"Hands where I can see 'em!" the Sheriff shouts. Realizing he's unnoticed, Dean ducks down behind the bar.

"Now this is not what it looks like," Cas says, hands up in the air.

"Look, we're the Feds," Bobby says.

"Yeah? Well Feds are not allowed to do this. Cuff 'em. Turn around," the Sheriff orders. Sam, Gracilynn, Bobby, and Cas are cuffed and led out of the bar. Dean comes out from behind the bar, watching after them.

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think! Love hearing your thoughts!


	33. Keep Each Other Close

AN: Here's the next update!

Sam, Gracilynn, Bobby, and Cas are shoved into the sheriff station.

"Listen, if we can make a phone call, we can straighten this all out," Sam says, trying to talk their way out of this situation.

"Straighten out a massacre? I'd like to see you try," the sheriff counters.

"I thought it was innocent until proven guilty," Gracilynn says.

"We caught you _in_ the bar with dozens of dead bodies. You can't get any guiltier than that," the sheriff replies.

"Except being caught in the act," Gracilynn points out. "We heard some people saying how some of their friends hadn't returned from the bar so we went to check it out."

Sam looks around, noticing the security footage. He sees the sheriff's eyes glowing, realizing he's a part-shapeshifter hybrid. He quickly headbutts him and shouts to the others.

"J-Jefferson Starships!"

Sam kicks one as Gracilynn swivels around shoulder checks one, knocking him down. Cas shoves one up against the wall and Dean appears, chopping its head off. One of them attacks Sam, trying to bite him. The one Gracilynn knocked down, gets up and starts towards her. Gracilynn backs up and just as the Jefferson Starship charges at her, she kicks it, sending it flying. Dean grabs it and knocks it down, killing him. Another one is attacking Bobby and Cas quickly kills it. Dean looks up and sees the sheriff going after Sam and he runs over, ready to kill it. Dean knocks him down and raises his machete but Sam's shout stops him.

"Dean, wait!"

Dean stops and looks over at Sam quizzically.

"We need information," Sam answers. Dean looks back down at the sheriff and drops his machete.

"All right," Dean says, bending down and punching the sheriff in the face, effectively knocking him out.

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"Well, I'll say this, you're the healthiest looking specimen I've seen all day," Bobby says to the Sheriff who's chained in silver in the interrogation room. Cas stands at the doorway and Bobby's holding a knife. Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn are watching through the window.

"I take my vitamins," the sheriff says.

"So you wanna tell us what's going on here? Hmm?" Bobby asks. "So you boys are, uh, Eve's cleaning crew, is that it? You, uh…you come around to clean up the bodies? Make sure the word doesn't get out, huh? Is that why you snatched up the doctor?"

The sheriff sighs.

"You're so wasting your time. You stupid head of cattle," the sheriff says cockily before laughing. The Winchesters hear a noise behind them and they all turn simultaneously to look.

"More Starships," Dean says, walking off to investigate.

"Stay here," Sam says to Cas and Gracilynn. Gracilynn narrows her eyes.

"Nice try, but I'm coming with you two," she says following after her uncle as he walks after Dean. There is blood on the wall and the three of them follow it to a row of cells.

"Stay close, and be careful," Dean says over his shoulder to his daughter. They move forward a little ways and realize in one of the cells there are two boys, tied up and gagged. Sam recognizes them from the photo he saw.

"You're Dr. Silver's boys," Sam says. The older boy nods his head. "Alright, don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here, okay? Uh, keys?"

"Right," Dean says, but Gracilynn interrupts before he can make a move.

"I got 'em," she says, taking off to find them.

"Look. We're not gonna hurt you. My name is Sam. That's my brother, Dean," Sam says, pointing to his brother. Gracilynn comes in with the keys and hands them to her dad. "And that's my niece Gracilynn."

Dean unlocks the cell door and opens it.

"Those cops, they're not coming back…ever," Sam says as the two brothers walk over and ungag the boys. "What are your names?"

"Joe," the older one says. He nods over at his younger brother. "This is Ryan."

Sam nods his head.

"Hey Ryan, how you doing?" Dean asks the younger boy in a gently tone. Ryan looks shy and averts his eyes to the floor.

"He won't talk, not since they came for us," Joe explains. Gracilynn watches the interaction, picking up on the knowing look from her dad. She can't help but think the two boys in the cell were a lot like her dad and uncle. She didn't know every detail of their childhood but she knew quite a bit from stories they told her.

"Alright, listen Joe. We're gonna get you out of those handcuffs. Um, but you understand what's going on around here, don't you?" Dean says. Joe nods. "So first we've gotta make sure you're you."

"How you gonna do that?" Joe asks.

"Well there's a few, uh, dozen tests. Okay, let's get started," Dean says, not wanting to traumatize either boys any more than they already were.

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"So you two never heard 'em talk... about a mother, or someone named Eve?" Sam asks Joe and Ryan as they are sitting at a table.

"It was just me and Ryan in there," Joe replies, shaking his head.

"And your folks?" Dean asks. Gracilynn watches the settle change in Joe, knowing the answer wasn't a good one.

"Cops said we were next. He said we were food," Joe says. Gracilynn clenches her jaw. These were good kids; they didn't deserve to lose their parents like that.

"You have any other family?" Dean asks.

"An uncle, in Merritt," Joe answers.

"Merritt, what's that, like 15 miles outside of town? Okay. We'll get you there," Dean says.

"Dean, can I have a word?" Cas asks, having heard the whole conversation. Dean gets up and walks over to the side with Cas. Gracilynn watches them, knowing something's going on. She reverts her attention back to the two brothers in front of her. She wants to say something to make them feel better but know nothing will. Nothing made _her_ feel better after her mom. Well, two things helped, Gracilynn thinks to herself as she glances at her dad and uncle. Gracilynn looks back at the boys.

"Hey, do me a favor," Gracilynn says to them, getting their attention. Sam looks over at his niece, wondering what she's going to say. "No matter how bad things get, just…keep each other close. 'Cause family's what's gonna help get you two through everything."

"We will," Joe says, knowing by the look in Gracilynn's eyes that she completely understood what they were going through. Dean's raised voice catches Gracilynn's attention.

"Are you kidding?" Dean asks, giving Cas a look. Cas says something, but Gracilynn can't quite make it out. "You know what, I-I'm getting a little sick and tired of the greater purposes, okay? I think what I'd like to do now is save a couple of kids. If you don't mind. We'll catch up."

Dean begins walking over towards the boys and he gives Sam and Gracilynn a look before saying anything.

"Okay guys, let's go. C'mon," he says. The group stands up and follows Dean out the door. "Gracie stay here."

"What? Why?" Gracilynn demands.

"I need you to keep an eye on things here," Dean says.

"Fine," Gracilynn bites out, going back into the station, slamming the door behind her.

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Gracilynn is sulking in one of the chairs at the table. Cas is staring out the window. Bobby gives Gracilynn a knowing look before turning his attention to Cas.

"They won't take long," Bobby assures.

"You don't know that. They may find more wayward orphans along the way," Cas says sarcastically, causing Gracilynn to shoot a glare his way.

"Oh, don't get cute," Bobby says.

"Right. Pardon me for highlighting their crippling and dangerous empathetic response with 'sarcasm'," Cas begins. Gracilynn, angry at being left behind, but still feeling the need to stand up for her family, butts in.

"You know what? Cut the shit Cas," Gracilynn says. Bobby looks over at her in surprise and Cas isn't sure what to say to this. Gracilynn doesn't give either one a chance though before she continues. "From what I remember, their _empathetic response_ was why you liked them. And, hell, if it wasn't for their _empathetic response_ they wouldn't have saved the world. Or you, me, Uncle Bobby… Showing empathy is what makes you _human_. You know what allows that? Your soul. And if you haven't forgotten already, it _sucks_ when someone doesn't have their freakin' soul. So, before you decide to patronize my dad and uncle for _caring_ maybe you should learn how not to be a selfish douchehat."

Bobby raises an eyebrow after her tirade, thinking she could give any of the Winchester men a run for their money with it. Bobby looks over at Cas, wondering what he's going to say to the lecture. Cas watches Gracilynn for a minute, deciding that arguing with her right now was just downright suicide, so he turns his attention back to Bobby.

"It was a bad idea…letting them go," Cas says, hoping he phrased it in a way it didn't sound like he was attacking them. He might be an angel but he definitely didn't want to get lectured by a pissed off Winchester again.

"Come on. You don't let Sam and Dean Winchester do squat. They do what they gotta. You know that. Anyway, we want Eve, we need coordinates. So we can stand here bellyaching or we can go poke that pig 'til he squeals. Thoughts?" Bobby asks. Cas walks off, thinking about their next move. Bobby looks over at Gracilynn, hoping he can calm her down. "Thought you were made at yer daddy?"

"I am. Doesn't mean I won't stand up for him. Either one of them," Gracilynn says anger still evident in her voice, though it's not directed at Bobby.

"Think you scared Cas a little back there," Bobby says, changing the subject. Gracilynn feels a smirk tugging at her lips, but she tries to suppress it; she was supposed to still be angry. "You sure could give your daddy and uncle a run for their money. Hell, even John."

"Yeah, well, I've been around two hot heads 24/7 for the past three years, so…" Gracilynn says, not being able to hide the slight smirk playing at her lips this time.

"Yeah, but your mama…" Bobby begins.

"Was just as bad," Gracilynn finishes. "Our fights were pretty brutal."

"Brutal huh?" Bobby asks. Gracilynn looks over at Bobby.

"Let's just say we would've given Uncle Sam and John a run for their money with them," Gracilynn says, using Bobby's words.

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"You know, she can see you right now. And you're just making her mad," the Sheriff says to Bobby.

"Then tell the bitch to come get me," Bobby replies. Gracilynn looks over at Cas as he squeezes by her through the door and into the interrogation room.

"I need five minutes alone with him," he announces. Gracilynn looks at him curiously.

"What for? Cas, your batteries are dead," Bobby says, confused.

"Give me five minutes," Cas repeats.

"Alright, fine," Bobby says, leaving the room and gently nudging Gracilynn away as Cas turns to face the sheriff. Bobby and Gracilynn sit outside the room at the table. Bobby pours himself a drink and looks over at Gracilynn. He pours her a drink as well, only not as much, and places it in front of her. Gracilynn raises her eyebrows, giving Bobby a look.

"You've earned it," Bobby says. "Just don't tell yer daddy."

Gracilynn smirks and takes a sip of her drink. The sheriff screams and she looks over at the interrogation room. Cas comes out of the room and Gracilynn sees him wiping blood of his hands.

"Eve's at 25 Buckley Street. You can call Sam and Dean," Cas says, walking away. Gracilynn raises her eyebrows.

"Since when did we take orders from him," Gracilynn says.

AN: Please review!


	34. It's Probably Nothing

AN: So, everyone get to see the family photo Danneel put on Twitter? JJ is adorable! And she has Jensen's eyes. No matter who she ends up looking like, she's gonna be gorgeous. Anyways, on with the story.

"Rigorous interrogation, huh?" Dean asks, noticing the decapitated body of the sheriff lying on the ground.

"Well, we got a location. Now we just gotta get close enough to take a shot," Bobby says.

"Alright. Well, let's all take one," Dean says, taking the phoenix ash shells out of his pocket. Gracilynn reaches over to grab one and Dean pulls his hand away. "Yeah, nice try."

"Dad," Gracilynn all but whines, rolling her eyes. Sam and Bobby chuckle and grab a shell as well as Dean and Cas.

"Load 'em up. Make 'em count," Dean says to the group.

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The group walks down the street, finding the address and noticing it's the diner they were at earlier.

"You gotta be kidding me. She's been in there the whole time?" Dean exclaims, frustrated.

"Why'd she ever let us in? Or out?" Sam asks, eyeing the diner.

"Well there's one way to find out," Dean says, giving his brother a look.

"What, just stroll in? We don't know who's human or who's her," Bobby counters.

"Well there's one way to draw her out. Me and Sam will go in," Dean says.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? No way," Gracilynn says.

"Dean," Bobby challenges at the same time.

"Look. If we don't get a shot off, you three better," Dean says.

"With what? I don't even have a damn shell," Gracilynn argues. Dean gives her a look

"That's the plan?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah. Pretty much," Dean says. Sam hands Bobby his bag and Dean takes his bag with him. Dean and Sam walks towards the diner while Bobby, Cas, and Gracilynn stay outside by a lamp post.

"This plan _sucks_," Gracilynn says. Bobby sighs.

"Well at least it ain't complicated," Bobby says, earning a look from Gracilynn.

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"God, how long is this gonna take?" Gracilynn complains. Bobby smirks, looking over at her.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Bobby says, reading between the lines. Gracilynn looks over at the diner, biting her lip.

"You really think so?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, of course," Bobby says, lying through his teeth.

"Then why'd they close the blinds earlier?" Gracilynn asks.

"I…" Bobby begins but he hears a sound behind him. Gracilynn and Cas hear it as well and the three of them turn around to check it out, but they don't see anything.

"I think we're just getting paranoid," Gracilynn says, not very believable.

"Right, all three of us at once," Bobby says. They turn around only to have a large group of Starships practically standing on top of them.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Gracilynn hears her dad say as the Starships all but drag them into the back of the diner.

"You think?" a woman says. The Starships bring them into the front of the diner. She sees her dad and uncle sitting at the counter and a slew of Starships around them. A woman with blonde hair is standing near them. Gracilynn recognizes her from pictures her dad and uncle showed her as being Mary, but she knows it's not. She assumes its Eve. Eve looks over and sees them.

"Well, so much for your plan B," Eve says, smiling at them. Dean and Sam notice them and they glare at Eve. Eve looks at Cas, speaking to him. "And you, wondering why so flaccid? I'm older than you, Castiel. I know what makes angels tick. Long as I'm around, consider yourself unplugged."

It's Cas's turn to glare at her. Eve walk over towards Gracilynn, resting a hand on her head, smiling. Gracilynn jerks her head away, sending Eve a glare of her own. Eve turns her attention back to the boys.

"Work for me. It's a good deal. Bonus, I won't kill your friends. I won't kill your daughter," she says. Dean and Sam's glares darken.

"Alright, look. The last few months we've been working for an evil dick. We're not about to sign up for an evil bitch. We don't work with demons. We don't work with monsters. And if that means you gotta kill us, then, kill us!" Dean says.

"Or, I turn you. And you do what I want anyway," Eve offers.

"Beat me with a wire hanger, answer's still no," Dean answers. Eve is suddenly behind Dean, grabbing his shoulders and her head next to his. Gracilynn struggles against the Starships holding her. Sam stands up but a couple Starships instantly restrain him. Sam struggles against them. Eve leers over Dean's shoulder.

"Don't test me," she says with vehemence.

"Bite me," Dean says. Eve angrily bites him in the neck. Gracilynn sucks in a breath, straining against the Starships with renewed vigor.

"Dad!"

"No!" Sam yells.

"Dean!" Cas shouts. Eve suddenly staggers back, coughing.

"Phoenix ash. One shell, one ounce of whisky. Down the hatch. Little musty on the afterburn. Call you later, Mom," Dean says cockily. Gracilynn looks over at her dad, finally realizing what he did with the other phoenix ash filled shell. A light begins to shine from Eve's chest and she forces back from Mary to the brunette. She starts choking and a dark liquid comes out of her mouth and nose. She falls to the ground and dies. Seeing this, the Starships begin attacking. Cas realizes with Eve dead, he has his powers back.

"Shut your eyes!" he shouts. Everyone covers their eyes. Sam, being closest to Gracilynn shields her with his body. Cas creates a blast of white light that ends up killing all of the monsters. Gracilynn hears a car alarm go off outside from the tremor. The hunters stand up and look around the room, seeing all of the dead Jefferson Starships.

"We got to take you on more monster hunts," Bobby says to Cas. Sam sighs, noticing Dean clutching his neck.

"Hey Cas, um, Dean's bleeding pretty good," Sam says, nodding towards his brother. Gracilynn looks over at her dad, trying to control her fear at seeing all the blood. Cas looks over as well, seeing the same thing as them.

"Yeah, I think she turned me into a Jefferson Starship. Could you clear that up too?" Dean says. Cas walks over and touches Dean's shoulder, his wound healing.

"Alright, we're good. We got to go. Now," Dean says, looking over at his daughter, making sure she's okay.

"Where?" Cas and Gracilynn ask.

"The kid. The little kid. He's one of 'em," Dean answers.

"Unbelievable," Cas says, annoyed.

"Yeah, I know Cas, you told me, alright. Let's just go," Dean says, aggravated himself. Cas shakes his head in disbelief and Dean puts the empty shotgun shell on the table. Cas teleports them all to Ryan's uncles' house.

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The hunters enter the uncle's house and see him lying on the floor, dead. Dean's jaw tightens.

"So we kill the wicked witch and she still wins. I mean they could've turned half the town by now," Dean says. Cas opens his mouth to say something but Dean stops him. "Don't say it."

Bobby begins walking around the house, investigating, trying to find anything that could help them. He finds a door and opens it up, the dead body of Ryan falling out of it. Bobby looks past him and sees the dead body of Joe behind him as well.

"Found 'em," Bobby calls out. Dean, Sam, Gracilynn, and Cas all walk over to where Bobby is and notice the dead bodies of the kids.

"Well who ganked them?" Dean asks. Sam notices something and bends down, touching a yellow powder on the floor and bringing his hand up to his face.

"Demons," Sam says, realizing its sulfur.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"So what do you think?" Sam asks his brother.

"I think that demons don't give a crap about monster tweens unless they're told to," Dean replies.

"So you think she was telling the truth?" Sam asks. Gracilynn's eyes scrunch in confusion.

"About what?" she asks.

"The truth about what?" Cas asks at the same time.

"She said that Crowley's still kicking," Dean answers them both.

"But I burned his bones, how c-? Was she certain?" Cas asks. Gracilynn gives him a weird look. Something was off but she couldn't put her finger on it. In fact, something had been off for a while.

"Sounded pretty sure. According to her, Crowley's still waterboarding her kids, somewhere," Dean replies.

"I don't understand," Cas says, confused.

"Well he is a crafty son of a bitch," Dean offers.

"I'm an angel. I'll look into it immediately," Cas says determinedly before disappearing.

"Cas! Let us know what you find out!" Dean shouts, annoyed at the sudden departure. Sam and Bobby walk away. Gracilynn gives them a curious look. They obviously have something to say. The two hunters stop, giving Dean a look.

"What? What?" Dean asks, seeing the same thing Gracilynn does.

"How _did_ Crowley get away? I mean it's not like Cas to make mistakes like that. Unless…" Bobby begins, but trails off.

"Unless what?" Dean prods.

"Unless he meant to," Bobby finishes, glancing quickly at Gracilynn.

"Bobby, this is Cas we're talking about," Dean says. He looks down at Gracilynn. "Do you think this too?"

"I…I don't know. Cas has been acting…weird lately," Gracilynn says hesitantly. Dean looks like he can't believe what he's hearing. He looks over at his brother.

"Do you believe this?" he asks Sam. Sam doesn't answer. "Sam?"

Sam sighs, not sure what he wants to say, knowing one more back stabbing from family was going to do a number on his brother.

"Look it's probably nothing, it's just... You know what? You're right. It's… it's probably nothing," Sam says, not sure whether he's convincing Dean or himself.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam folds his pants up and shoves them in his bag. Feeling someone watching him, he looks up and sees his niece standing in his doorway. Gracilynn bites her lip and Sam knows she wants to say something but isn't sure she should.

"What's bugging you Smalls?" Sam asks, giving her his full attention. Gracilynn is hesitant, looking down the hall before looking back at her uncle. "This have anything to do with what was said earlier?"

Gracilynn sighs, nodding her head. Sam sighs himself, knowing this was probably going to happen. He nods towards the door.

"Why don't you shut the door," Sam says, taking a seat at the edge of his bed. Gracilynn does so and walks over, sitting down next to her uncle. Sam waits for her to start.

"You…you really think Cas is up to something? That he's hiding something?" Gracilynn asks, looking over at Sam. Sam meets her gaze, wondering if this was the same look he would always give Dean. Hell, if he was honest, the look he still gave him sometimes. And how the hell did Dean deal with it all the time.

"I think something's going on that Cas isn't telling us about," Sam answers carefully. "And I think, because it _is_ Cas, that he thinks he's doing the right thing…whatever _it_ is."

"So what do we do now?" Gracilynn asks. Sam thinks for a moment before answering.

"We try to soften the blow when it hits Dean in the heart," Sam says, wrapping an arm around his niece and pulling her in for a side hug.

AN: Please review!


	35. Cracks In The Damn

SN: Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. I am putting a WARNING on this chapter and the next chapter because it does talk about abuse. Memories are in italics so if you'd rather not read those it's fine. Gracilynn will summarize it all in the end. Enjoy!

_Gracilynn crawls across the floor quickly making her way to the safe in the closet. She hears her mother's pleading screams from upstairs. She shoves herself up onto her feet, whipping open the closet door with her bloodied hand. Her breathing is quick and her heart is pumping a mile a minute. She puts in the code the best she can with her eye already beginning and swell and yanks the safe open, hearing nothing. Gracilynn freezes, her head whipping towards the stairs, waiting to hear something…anything. Faintly, she hears a door shut and footsteps walk down the hall. Gracilynn's breathing speeds up and she looks back at the safe, grabbing the gun inside and the bullets along with it. She quickly loads the gun with trembling fingers. She hears a noise behind her and she spins around, holding the gun in front of her, aiming it at Nick. He stops, hands up in mock surrender as a cocky smirk appears on his lips._

_ "Come on Grace. You're not really going to shoot me," he says, taking a step forward._

_ "Stop…Don't…Don't come any closer," Gracilynn stutters out, her hands shaking slightly. Nick chuckles._

_ "You can't even hold the damn gun steady. How are you gonna hit me?" he says, taking another step forward. Gracilynn retreats backwards, gathering her courage._

_ "I'm sure you being a douchebag will help," she replies. Nick's stare darkens._

_ "You're pretty confident for a little kid whose mother can't help her and a deadbeat dad nowhere to be found," he says. Before Gracilynn realizes it, Nick charges at her. Gracilynn holds her breath, pulling the trigger five times._

Gracilynn shoots up in bed, breathing heavy, on the verge of hyperventilating. She sees someone out of the corner of her eye and without thinking, she swings an arm out, punching them right in the nose.

"Son of a… Gracie… Gracie, hey, it me," a voice to her right says, a little muffled but calming nonetheless. Gracilynn's vision clears and she turns her head to see her dad standing back slightly, a hand prodding his nose.

"D…Dad?" Gracilynn asks, sounding all of seven years old. Dean looks at her carefully.

"You okay?" Dean asks. Gracilynn jerkily nods her head and Dean takes this as his cue to move back to the space on the bed next to her he had originally been occupying. He rests a hand on her shoulder. "Good, now I need you to slow your breathing down before you hyperventilate."

Gracilynn feels her dad's hand squeeze her shoulder gently, offering his support and she gradually begins to slow her breathing down. When satisfied, Dean nods his head.

"Nightmare that bad?" Dean asks sympathetically.

"It…It was fine," Gracilynn answers.

"Fine?" Dean asks unbelievingly.

"Yeah," Gracilynn says, trying to convince herself as much as her father.

"Then why were you crying?" Dean asks, calling her out and nodding towards the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"I…" Gracilynn begins but stops herself. She didn't have a lie for that one. At least not one that was believable.

"You know you can talk to me right?" Dean asks. Gracilynn nods her head.

"Yeah, dad, I know," she replies softly. She finally gains the courage to look over at her dad, taking in the bruising already forming on his nose. "How's your nose?"

"I'll live," Dean says, studying his daughter.

"Sorry about that," Gracilynn says.

"Don't worry about it. Just…work on the follow through for when it really counts," Dean says, getting up and walking over to the fridge and pulling out an ice pack. He places it on his nose and turns around to head back to Gracilynn's bed but sees she's already curled back up in her covers and asleep. Dean hears Bobby's front door open and walks down the stairs to see Sam walks in with coffee and breakfast. Seeing Dean up, Sam sets the items on the table. Sam looks back at his brother and realizes he has an ice pack on his face and Sam gives him a curious look.

"What happened to you?" Sam asks.

"Gracilynn had a nightmare. I got too close," is all Dean says. Sam smirks.

"She make you bleed?" Sam asks, earning a look from his brother. Sam hears a noise upstairs and looks towards them. He instantly sobers up and looks back at Dean. "She tell you what it was about?"

"No," Dean says, sitting at the table and grabbing the cup of coffee in front of him and taking a sip. Dean makes a face and sets it in front of the seat across from him and grabs the other cup of coffee, taking a sip. This time Dean sighs contentedly.

"She's been having a lot of nightmares lately," Sam points out.

"You think I can't see that Sam," Dean says aggravated.

"I know you see it Dean," Sam says knowingly. "Just saying, I think it's about time we try to get it out of her what's been bothering her."

"Yeah, until she shuts the doors like the white house under attack," Dean counters. Sam sighs. Dean brings a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes.

"Dean…"

"I don't know Sam. I mean, we're trying to hunt down Crowley, Gracie's having nightmares almost every night, and Cas is going Anakin Skywalker on us. What do you want me to do?" Dean says. Sam doesn't say anything.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

_Gracilynn flinches when his fist flies towards her again, striking her face. He had already hit her twice before that and she knew her eye was going to be swollen shortly. She can feel the blood trickle down her arm where it got cut from the beer bottle Nick broke in his anger, throwing it to the floor. He had hit her and sent her falling on top of it. _

_ "Nick! Stop! Leave her alone!" Kayla shouts at him. Nick turns and sees her behind him._

_ "She needs to learn her place," Nick growls, turning his attention back to Gracilynn. He raises his hand to strike her again when he is hit from behind. Nick staggers, falling to his knees. Gracilynn looks behind him and sees her mother holding a frying pan in her hands, looking surprised she had actually hit him. Nick gets up and advances on Kayla, ripping the frying pan out of her hands and throwing it across the room. He hits her and Kayla falls to the ground. Nick grabs her by the hair and begins dragging her upstairs._

_ "Mom!" Gracilynn screams, hearing her mother begging Nick to stop, to leave them alone._

"Mom!" Gracilynn shouts, bolting up in her bed. Sam, who was walking by, peers into her room. Seeing her breathing heavy and clearly distraught, he cautiously enters the room. Remembering what happened to Dean the day before, Sam makes sure to keep his distance.

"You all right Smalls?" Sam asks. Gracilynn's head jerks towards him, obviously not realizing she wasn't alone.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine," Gracilynn says, trying to slow her breathing down. Sam hesitates for a moment, but decides to give her a little push.

"Yeah? Seemed like a pretty bad nightmare," Sam says. When Gracilynn doesn't say anything he continues. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," Gracilynn says.

"Seems like whatever this is, is really bothering you. Maybe talking about it will help," Sam pushes.

"I said no Uncle Sam," Gracilynn says, getting aggravated, more so on the fact she isn't hiding this as well as she wants to. Sam sighs.

"Smalls…"

"I'm gonna go get ready," Gracilynn says, climbing out of bed and exiting the room. Sam sighs again, frustrated that she wasn't talking.

Gracilynn shuts the bathroom door behind her and turns on the sink. She splashes some cold water on her face and reaches for the towel, drying herself off. She looks in the mirror, the girl looking back looking nothing like her. There are black circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep, exhaustion clearly written on her face, and to be truthful, she looks like complete crap. She was doing fine until last week, when they stumbled upon a job. One where a mother and daughter were being harassed by a malevolent spirit, that just so happened to be the mother's abusive ex-boyfriend. God, what was with single mothers and their taste in men, Gracilynn thinks to herself. Since then, the nightmares had been coming full-force and they keep getting worse. More real every time. Gracilynn sighs and turns on the shower, hoping maybe a long hot shower will do the trick.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Why can't I go!?" Gracilynn says angrily. Dean sighs, shoving another pair of pants in his bag. They had found a lead on a demon named Ellsworth that would be able to help them get Crowley. And Dean had told Gracilynn she had to stay at Bobby's, and as expected, she wasn't cooperating.

"Because," Dean answers.

"Because isn't an answer," Gracilynn spits out, glaring at her dad. Dean zips his bag up a little harder than he should and turns around to face his daughter.

"Fine, you wanna know why?" Dean asks, giving up. Gracilynn makes a face that says, 'Duh, that's why I asked'. "Because you can barely stand up straight."

"I can…" Gracilynn begins to argue but Dean cuts her off.

"No, you can't. You're lucky if you get three hours of sleep every night. You're have nightmares every night you _do_ fall asleep. You're exhausted…and it's messing with your head. Bringing you along would be a liability and I'm not taking the chance that you, or anyone else for that matter, is gonna get hurt," Dean says, leaving no room for argument. Gracilynn's jaw tightens, because truthfully, even if he _did_ leave room for argument, she wouldn't have a good one to use. She knew he was right and she knew that if anything happened to any of the men in her life because of her she'd never forgive herself. Dean realizes he has won and throws his bag over his shoulder and walk over to his daughter.

"Be careful and stay safe. Call if you need anything," Dean says, kissing the top of her head, before leaving the room. Gracilynn continues to stand in the middle of the room, hearing muffled voices downstairs, most like her uncle asking how things went with her. The front door closes and a few minutes later the Impala roars to life. Gracilynn sighs in defeat. It was early morning and her dad and uncles wouldn't be back till tomorrow sometime. Gracilynn lifts up a sheet of paper with writing on it. _And Uncle Bobby has me on cleaning duty_, she thinks. _This is gonna be a very long, boring two days._

AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think!


	36. A Broken Damn

AN: Here's the next chapter! Again, I am putting a WARNING on this chapter for abuse. Thanks!

_"You can't even hold the damn gun steady. How are you gonna hit me?" he says, taking another step forward. Gracilynn retreats backwards, gathering her courage._

_ "I'm sure you being a douchebag will help," she replies. Nick's stare darkens._

_ "You're pretty confident for a little kid whose mother can't help her and a deadbeat dad nowhere to be found," he says. Before Gracilynn realizes it, Nick charges at her. Gracilynn holds her breath, pulling the trigger…_

Gracilynn bolts upright on the couch. Before she realizes it she has pulled the gun off the table next to her and has pointed it in front of her, emptying the clip. Gracilynn comes to and her eyes grow big, realizing what she has just done. She puts the safety on the gun and drops it on the couch, climbing off it, staring at it like it's going to bite her hand off. She is breathing heavy and she pulls her gaze from the gun and looks over at Bobby's kitchen wall. There are a handful of bullet holes in it. Gracilynn backs up and all but falls to the floor, sitting against the far wall, a sob escaping. She couldn't do this anymore; she was in _way_ over her head. She was lucky she was home alone this time; but what if she wasn't next time? What if she shot her dad? Or Uncle Sam? Or Uncle Bobby? Gracilynn pulls out her phone seeing its late morning before she hits a button, putting the phone to her ear.

"Hey, you still pouting?" Dean voice comes over the phone. Gracilynn can hear the sounds of the Impala in the background. Gracilynn closes her eyes, trying to get her composure. She hated how her dad could bring her back to a nine year old just by talking to her; her just wanting him to fix everything.

"D…Dad?" Gracilynn says, cursing the quiver in her voice.

"What's wrong?" Dean asks, instantly picking up on the quiver in his daughter's voice. He looks over at Sam and shares a look with him.

"You almost home?" Gracilynn asks, controlling the tremor, but just slightly.

"We're a few hours out. What happened?" Dean answers, picking up on the fact his daughter hadn't answered the question.

"I can't…I can't do this anymore," Gracilynn says, a tear running down her face.

"Can't do what anymore? Gracie, what's going on?" Dean asks, a pit forming in his stomach. Without realizing it, he pushes on the gas pedal harder.

"You and Uncle Sammy said that if I ever needed to talk you'd…you'd be there right?" Gracilynn asks.

"Yeah, of course. Always," Dean says, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "Gracie…"

"Can you get here faster?" Gracilynn asks.

"We'll be there in an hour and a half," Dean says. Gracilynn lets out a relieved sigh. "Gracie?"

"Yeah," Gracilynn says.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Dean says.

"I won't," Gracilynn says. There is a click announcing Gracilynn hanging up her end of the phone. Dean puts his phone away and looks over at his brother, pushing on the gas harder.

"Dean?" Sam asks.

"Gracie's in trouble. Something's wrong," Dean says.

"What? What happened?" Sam asks, a pit of his own forming in his stomach.

"I don't know. But she sounded pretty freaked out," Dean says.

"I'll call Bobby," Sam says, already taking out his phone.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Gracie!" "Smalls!"

Gracilynn looks up from her spot on the floor, hearing the front door open and her dad and uncle hurrying inside. She doesn't have to wait long for them to appear in the kitchen. The front door shuts and Bobby appears behind them. The three of them look around the room for her and Gracilynn looks over at Bobby.

"I'm sorry about your wall Uncle Bobby," Gracilynn says. The three hunters look over at her, having heard her speak. Bobby looks confused and Gracilynn glances at the wall opposite her in the kitchen. Bobby looks over and sees the bullet holes.

"Damn," Bobby says. Dean and Sam look over and see the bullet holes as well.

"Son of a Bitch," Dean and Sam say. Dean looks over at Gracilynn.

"Gracie, you okay? What happened?" he says, taking in her appearance and not seeing any injuries.

"I…I had another nightmare," Gracilynn explains.

"So, you decided to shoot up Bobby's house?" Dean asks.

"I…I thought … I thought it was real," Gracilynn says quietly.

"Smalls, what's it about?" Sam asks, coming into line with Dean. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip, focusing her stare on the gun on the couch. Dean and Sam glance in that direction and see the gun lying there. They look back at Gracilynn. Just when they think she's not going to say anything, she speaks up.

"Remember when I said that mom had some douchebag boyfriends?" Gracilynn asks, not looking away from the gun.

"Yeah," Dean and Sam answer. Dean moves closer to her.

"It was really just the one," Gracilynn says. "His name was Nick."

Dean forces a swallow, not sure he wants to hear this but knowing his daughter needs to talk about it. He walks up next to her and squats down in front of her.

"He was really nice in the beginning but then he started saying stuff. Putting mom down whenever he could. Started saying what a deadbeat you were. Then, one day he hit her. She made up some stupid excuse. It just got worse after that," Gracilynn continues. Bobby stays back, the story hitting too close to home. Sam's puppy dog eyes come out full force without realizing it. He walks over to his niece and brother and squats down next to Dean.

"Gracie…" Dean says, not sure what to say.

"Just let me finish. Please," Gracilynn begs. "It's hard enough already."

Dean nods his head in understanding.

"I was twelve. Mom was in the other room. And Nick was over. He was in one of his moods and he had been drinking. He was going on one of his rants about dead beat dads leaving the mother and kid and making some other guy clean up his mess. I…I told him to shut up. He got mad and threw the beer bottle he had on the ground and hit me. I cut my arm on a piece of the broken bottle on the way down," Gracilynn continues. Dean all but growls, wanting to find this guy and kill him. Sam wasn't too far behind him, his puppy dog eyes turning deadly very quickly. "He hit me a couple more times before mom was able to get to him. She begged him to stop but he wouldn't. He went to hit me again and she hit him in the back with a frying pan."

By now, the words are just spilling out of Gracilynn's mouth. She doesn't dare stop for fear of not being able to continue if she does.

"Nick went after her and dragged her upstairs and started to beat her. I could hear mom begging him to stop but he wouldn't. I knew he'd come back for me after so I went to the safe in our closet and grabbed the gun and loaded it up," Gracilynn goes on, tears running down her face now. "I turned around and he was right there. I told him to stay back but he kept coming towards me. He charged at me and…and I…I shot him."

"Gracie," Dean says, trying to push his anger down. "You did what you had to do."

"Five," Gracilynn says.

"What?" Dean asks.

"I shot him five times," Gracilynn says, then adds, "I wanted to make sure…"

"It's okay Smalls…" Sam says.

"No, it's not!" Gracilynn shouts. "I killed him. I killed a human, and…and I don't feel sorry."

Gracilynn finally looks up at her dad and uncle. They looked angry underneath everything, but they also looked sympathetic and there was no accusation in their eyes.

"It was either you or him Gracie. Sometimes you have to do what it takes to save your own life," Dean says. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Come here."

Dean pulls Gracilynn in for a hug, which she returns desperately.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"How's she doing?" Dean asks Bobby as he walks over to where Dean is near the back of the scrap yard.

"Fast asleep on the couch curled up against Sam who's also fast asleep on the couch," Bobby answers. Dean nods his head. Bobby looks at the car behind Dean and really takes it in. A couple windows are smashed and there are a couple dozen dents in it. Bobby nods towards the car.

"Looks like you did some body repairs," Bobby says, giving Dean a knowing look. Dean looks behind him at the car, but doesn't say anything. "You know son, you should take your own advice."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Dean asks, looking back at Bobby.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Bobby answers.

"That never would've happened if I was around, Bobby," Dean argues.

"You didn't even know she was alive. You couldn't have done anything. Now stop being an idjit and get back to the house. Dinner's ready," Bobby says firmly, turning around and walking back to the house, not waiting for Dean but knowing he'll follow.

AN: Please review! Would love to hear what ya'll thought!


	37. I'm Going After 'Em

AN: Here's a quick update for everyone! Enjoy!

Dean's sitting in a chair with a book, but he's not reading it; he's staring up into space, deep in thought. Sam sits across from him at the desk, looking through a book himself. Gracilynn's lying on the couch, looking through her own book.

"Well, you know what, at least you tried," Sam suddenly says, looking up at Dean, pulling him from his thoughts. Dean had told them about his visit from Cas the night before.

"Yeah, fat lot of good it did. Why did he even come, right?" Dean counters. Sam shrugs and sighs, not having an answer. Dean slams his book shut. "Well, Samuel's journals are pointless. I mean, I'm sorry, but uh, Jebediah Campbell has squat to tell me about how to stop Cas from cracking Purgatory."

Bobby walks in holding a large envelope.

"Well actually, it's not about the journals we have, it's about the one we don't," Bobby offers. Gracilynn closes her own book and sits up on the couch.

"Meaning what?" Sam asks, turning his attention to Bobby.

"Well, that's the bad news. Our pal Cas didn't stop in last night just to mend fences," Bobby says.

"That doesn't surprise me," Gracilynn says.

"What did he do?" Dean asks.

"Stole something," Bobby answers.

"What?" Dean asks in turn.

"The journal of one Moishe Campbell," Bobby replies.

"Moishe?" Sam and Gracilynn asks, each raising an eyebrow.

"Of the New York Campbells," Bobby says as if this explains it.

"Well, uh, so we gotta get it back, right?" Sam asks. Bobby holds up the envelope in his hand and hands it to Sam.

"Or just read the copy I'd already made. Hi, glad to meet you. Bobby Singer. Paranoid bastard," Bobby says. Gracilynn grins.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Bobby's sitting in a chair reading through some pages from the envelope. Dean walks in carrying two mugs. Sam's sitting at the desk looking through another book and Gracilynn sprawled out on the couch once again, looking at another book herself. A train whistle is heard outside.

"I think I zeroed in on something," Bobby announces, getting everyone's attention.

"What do you got?" Dean asks. Bobby hands him the page and Dean takes it from him. He walks towards Sam as he reads from it.

"Went to talk to Howard Phillips about the events of March 10th," Dean reads. Dean hands Sam one of the mugs and sits on the desk.

"That's March 10th, 1937," Bobby puts in.

"Alright. So who's this Phillips guy?" Dean asks.

"Phillips ain't his last name. It's Lovecraft," Bobby explains.

"Wait, H.P. Lovecraft?" Sam says, clearly intrigued. Bobby nods with a smile, looking just as excited.

"_The_ H.P. Lovecraft?" Gracilynn asks, putting her book down. Bobby nods again.

"Let me see that," Sam says and Dean hands him the paper. Gracilynn walks over and peers over her uncle's shoulder.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Dean asks, taking a sip of his coffee. Bobby looks surprised that Dean doesn't know.

"Horror writer. At the Mountains Of Madness, The Call of Cthulu?" he says.

"Yeah, it's…no, I'm…I was too busy having sex with women," Dean replies. Bobby rolls his eyes.

"Obviously," Gracilynn says, gesturing to herself and earning a smirk from Sam and Bobby.

"Well, anyhow. There's one notion that comes up over and over again in his stories. Namely opening doors to other dimensions and letting scary crap through," Bobby continues.

"You don't say," Dean says, the wheels already turning.

"Wait, so you're saying you think Lovecraft knew something about Purgatory?" Sam asks, his own wheels turning as well.

"All I know is Moishe paid him a visit," Bobby answers. Dean takes the copied journal and takes a seat on the couch, reading through it. Gracilynn takes a seat next to him, grabbing the book she was looking through beforehand.

A short time later, Dean's phone begins to ring from its place on the table next to the couch. Dean swats Gracilynn and points towards the phone without looking up from the papers or saying a word. Gracilynn reaches over and grabs it, looking at the caller ID before handing it to her father. She stops and stares at it. Dean looks up when she doesn't hand it to him right away and sees her expression.

"What?" he asks. Gracilynn looks over at her dad.

"It's Ben," she replies. Dean doesn't say anything, just grabs the phone from her and answers it.

"Ben?" he asks. Gracilynn hears Ben's frantic voice come over the phone.

"There's men in the house," Ben says.

"What?" Dean asks, setting the pages down and sitting forward. Gracilynn feels a pit in her stomach beginning to form.

"They killed Matt. They got Mom. They're coming, I hear them," Ben replies.

"What are they?" Dean asks, anger and fear setting in. Sam and Bobby stop what they are doing and turn their attention to Dean, hearing the tone in his voice change.

"I…I don't know," Ben answers.

"Did you see their eyes?" Dean asks, trying to get some sort of information out of Ben. Gracilynn looks over at her uncle, fear in her eyes.

"No," Ben answers.

"Teeth?" Dean asks.

"No," Ben answers again.

"This is important Ben, I need to know," Dean says, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Dean, I don't know," Ben says, frustrated he can't give Dean any information.

"Okay, where are you now?" Dean asks, changing tactics.

"In my room," Ben replies.

"Can you get to your mom's closet? I left a shotgun in there," Dean asks.

"No. Dean, what do I do?" Ben asks desperately, scared.

"Okay, Ben, listen to me. Go to your window and jump," Dean says firmly.

"What?!" Ben practically yells.

"Any bones you break won't compare to what they're gonna do to you, Ben. You've got to jump," Dean says.

"Okay, I'm going," Ben says.

"I'm coming right now," Dean says, getting ready to stand up. He stops when he hears a crash. "I'm coming to get you and your mom, I promise. You with me, Ben? Ben?"

"Dad?" Gracilynn asks, not liking this conversation one bit. Dean ignores her. Ben wasn't answering him.

"Ben?" Dean asks again. When there is no answer still, Dean looks at his phone to make sure he is still connected. He is.

"Hello, Dean," a familiar English voice says over the phone. Dean quickly puts his phone back to his ear. "Fancy a chat?"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"God, how long's it been, Dean? Since my so-called demise, yes?" Crowley says into the phone. Dean stands up from the couch.

"Crowley, let 'em go _now_, or I swear..." Dean says vehemently, walking towards Sam who has stood up.

"Right, right. You'll rip me a cornucopia of orifices. Let's get to the bit where I tell you how this goes. Your chocolate's been in my peanut butter for far too long," Crowley finishes for him.

"I am going to kill you," Dean threatens.

"Oh Dean, ever the wit. I've got your uh, oh what are they? Ex lady friend and not-kid, and I'm keeping them until I'm satisfied that you've backed the hell off!" Crowley replies.

"I'm telling you, last chance to let 'em go easy," Dean threatens again.

"You're adorable when you get all threatening. Don't worry, I won't hurt them. Provided you and Jolly Green stand down. Got it? Splendid. Kisses," Crowley replies, hanging up the phone. And Gracilynn stands up and walks over to where they are all standing.

"What's the story?" Bobby asks from his spot in the chair.

"He said Lisa and Ben keep breathing as long as we sit on our thumbs," Dean answers. Sam sighs.

"You think Cas knows about this?" Sam asks.

"We gotta assume he does," Dean replies.

"So what are we gonna do?" Sam asks.

"I'll tell you what we're not gonna do: sit here. I'm going after 'em," Dean says, making his way towards the door.

"I'm coming with," Sam says.

"Me too," Gracilynn adds.

"No, Sam. Gracie, no. You two and Bobby stay on the Lovecraft thing, okay? Cas is already way ahead of us," Dean says.

"You gotta be nuts if you think we're gonna let you do this alone. Bobby can take care of the case," Sam argues, Gracilynn backing him up. Bobby stands up.

"No, guys," Bobby says, disagreeing.

"Bobby, this is a big ball, okay? We can't drop it now," Dean points out.

"Fine," Bobby says, reluctantly giving in. "But how are you three gonna find Lisa and Ben?"

AN: Please review!

AN2: So, I have good news and bad news for everyone. And some more good news Good news is I've written multiple chapters ahead so updates should be faster. Bad news is this story is coming to a close. I've got this hunt and the finale to do and then that's it More good news is this means I'll be starting on Season 7!


	38. I'm Officially On Your Team

AN: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Bobby's car drives off, away from the Winchesters. Bobby was going to follow up on the Lovecraft case. The three Winchesters summon Balthazar. The lights in the scrap yard go out and Balthazar appears behind them with a drink in his hand. The Winchesters turn around and see him.

"I'm sorry boys, and girl, do I look like a man-servant to you? No? No? Then quit ringing for me, please," Balthazar says, clearly annoyed at being disrupted.

"This is important, Balthazar," Dean argues.

"I was drinking '75 Dom out of a soprano's navel when you called. _That_ was important," Balthazar counters. Gracilynn makes a face.

"Crowley's alive," Sam says, nodding when Balthazar gives them a look. Balthazar quickly covers it up before speaking.

"Well you've been scooped. Cas already told me," Balthazar replies.

"Well did Cas tell you that he is Crowley's butt-buddy, you smug little dick?" Dean asks cockily.

"Excuse me?" Balthazar asks, taken off guard.

"Handshake deal. Go halfsies on all the souls of Purgatory. He fill you in on that?" Sam explains further.

"Well, yes, yes. Yes, of course he did. Yes," Balthazar says, clearly lying.

"Oh, yes, of course. I…I…we can read it all over your face," Sam counters.

"Look, Crowley and Cas took two people who are very important to me," Dean says, getting straight to the point.

"And I care about this because?" Balthazar asks.

"Because maybe there is a shred of decency underneath this…this snarky crap," Dean says. Balthazar takes a sip of his drink. "They're innocent people and I'm asking for your help."

"Hmmm. I see. Fair enough," Balthazar says right before disappearing.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean shouts in anger.

"Look, Dean. Let's just call Cas. Maybe he doesn't know anything about this," Sam says.

"We are not calling Cas," Dean says firmly.

"Yeah, but Dean," Sam argues.

"We're not calling Cas!" Dean yells angrily.

"So what then?" Sam asks.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam is outside the garage at Singer Salvage, on the phone with Bobby. Gracilynn is sitting on the hood of the Impala, staring at the ground.

"Lovecraft tried to jimmy a damn dimensional door. Idjit," Bobby says over the phone.

"So what happened?" Sam asks.

"Well, nothing much. Except, I dug, and every guest invited to the hoedown, dead or disappeared inside a year," Bobby answers.

"Wow, um, so where are you off to now?" Sam asks.

"Have a chat with one of the guests," Bobby replies.

"Wait, didn't you just say that everyone there died?" Sam asks, confused.

"Yeah, everybody Lovecraft invited died. Seems the maid had a nine year old boy. He was there," Bobby explains.

"So, he'd be what, 83 years old now? Where is he?" Sam asks.

"Same place he's been ever since the big night. Locked in a mental ward," Bobby answers. A fight can be heard behind Sam in the garage.

"I see, um... Well, keep me posted, huh?" Sam says.

"Okay, stay in touch. How's things going there? You got a lead on Lisa and Ben?" Bobby says in turn.

"Well, um, we're making a few inquiries," Sam answers, screams being heard from inside the garage. "Slow going."

"How's Dean?" Bobby asks.

"About how you'd expect," Sam answers.

"Gracilynn?" Bobby asks. Sam looks over at his niece on the hood of the car, trying to pretend she can't hear what's going on inside the garage. Dean refused to let her go inside, not wanting her to see what was going to go down.

"As good as she can be," Sam answers.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn looks up at hearing the garage door open and slam shut. She sees her uncle begin walking towards her, visibly frustrated. He had gone back inside after hanging up with Bobby, but that was only ten minutes ago.

"Everything all right?" Gracilynn asks her uncle. Sam looks up, realizing he was standing next to his niece.

"What? Oh…yeah," Sam replies, masking his frustration.

"Dad find anything out yet?" Gracilynn asks.

"Uh…no, not yet. But he will," Sam assures her.

"Is dad gonna be okay?" Gracilynn asks Sam, silently pleading him to make things right. Sam weighs his options before answering her.

"He will be," Sam says. He looks over at her, taking in her appearance. "You all right?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," Gracilynn says, flinching when another screams comes from the garage.

"Come on squirt, let's go inside," Sam says, holding out an arm.

"Fine," Gracilynn says, jumping down from her spot on the Impala and sidling up next to her uncle before muttering loud enough for Sam to hear her. "Miracle Grow."

Sam chuckles and pulls her in for a side hug as the two of them walk over to the back door of Bobby's house. They walk inside and head straight for the kitchen. Sam sighs and walks over to where the liquor is. He pulls out two glasses and pours himself and Gracilynn a drink, Gracilynn's being relatively smaller, and hands her one. Balthazar suddenly appears in the room.

"Drinking your feelings, Sam? Gracilynn? I thought that was your brother's and dad's bag," Balthazar asks.

"Stressful times," Sam answers.

"Well, we need to talk," Balthazar says.

"Why?" Sam and Gracilynn ask.

"Because…I know I'm gonna live to regret this…but I'm officially on your team. You bastards," Balthazar says none too heatedly.

"Let me get Dean," Sam says, setting his cup down and exiting the room. Gracilynn turns her attention fully on Balthazar. The two of them study each other.

"So, what changed your mind?" Gracilynn asks.

"I had a talk with Cas. I didn't like his answers," Balthazar says. Gracilynn's eyes narrow and she studies Balthazar a little more. Balthazar narrows his own eyes at her. "Staring isn't nice."

"Neither is being a douchebag, but I guess you angels missed that memo," Gracilynn counters fluidly.

"Touché," Balthazar replies. The back door opens and shuts and in walks Sam and Dean.

"So? Sam says you're gonna help us?" Dean asks.

"Yes," Balthazar answers.

"And we should believe you why?" Dean asks.

"Would you believe I had a shred of decency?" Balthazar asks.

"No," Sam replies.

"Oh. That hurts," Balthazar says. Sam raises his eyebrows. "Okay, you're right. It's survival. You see, I asked Cas some questions and I disliked his answers. He seems awfully sure of himself for a man who wants to swallow a million nuclear reactors. I mean, these things can get a bit Chernobyl, you know? So, voilà. Consider me your double agent. Oh, and I took the liberty of searching for your friends. Uh, took a while. Crowley's a clever one."

"You found them?" Dean and Gracilynn ask.

"Well, the upside is yes, uh, the downside is no, I can't get them for you," Balthazar answers.

"Why not?" Sam asks.

"Because Crowley's angel-proofed the whole bloody building. I guess he doesn't trust Cas. Seems that marriage is going swimmingly," Balthazar says.

"Seems to be the common theme," Gracilynn says in return.

"Okay, well get us as close as you can," Dean says, ignoring his daughter's jab.

"Sure. But then you're on your own," Balthazar agrees.

AN: I know, I know. It's a shorter chapter. The next one will be a little longer, I promise!


	39. It Hurts Like Hell

AN: Here's the next chapter!

The Winchesters find themselves teleported outside the building where Lisa and Ben are being kept.

"Alright. This is where I get off. God be with you and what have you," Balthazar says before disappearing.

"Now what do we do?" Gracilynn asks.

"We go in, split up and try to find them. Take out any demon that gets in our way," Dean says.

"Wow, you really put a lot of thought in that plan didn't ya?" Gracilynn asks sarcastically, earning a look from her father.

"Let's go," Dean says, heading towards the door.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

A demon exits the building seeming to keep watch. Dean appears and stabs him in the chest with Ruby's knife. The demon lets out a groan and dies. Dean shoves the body over the gate to Sam and Gracilynn and they leave it on the ground. The three of them enter the building, Sam and Gracilynn carrying shotguns and Dean is carrying Ruby's knife along with the duffel bag containing other weapons. The three hunters enter the building quietly and look around.

"Alright, you two be careful," Dean says to them. They separate, Dean going one way and Sam and Gracilynn going the other. Sam and Gracilynn walk around a corner, their shotguns aimed. They hear a noise and the two of them gasp turning around but not seeing anything. A demon jumps down from above them and knocks Sam unconscious. Gracilynn turns around in time to be attacked from the front and knocked out herself. Two demons grab Sam and another Gracilynn and they carry them away. They throw the two of them into a room and lock the door from the outside.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn feels someone gently shaking her and she opens her eyes, squinting in the dimly lit room, letting out a groan.

"Smalls, come on. You with me?" Sam asks, kneeling above her. Gracilynn blinks a couple of times and focuses on her uncle.

"Wha' hap'ned?" she asks, slowly sitting up with some help from her uncle.

"We got knocked out," Sam explains. "We're in some sort of room. The door's locked."

Gracilynn nods her head and reaches up to feel her face. Her hand comes away bloody.

"Looks like you got hit in the nose," Sam says, explaining how she got blood on her face. Suddenly, they hear two gunshots from nearby and their heads turn towards the door.

"You think that's dad?" Gracilynn asks. Sam doesn't answer her but walks over to the door and begins pounding on it.

"Dean!" Sam shouts.

"Sam?" Dean's voice is heard on the other side of the door.

"We're in here!" Sam shouts banging on the door once again. A gunshot is heard and a clank of metal before the door swings open. Sam and Gracilynn walk out and they notice a bleeding Lisa lying on the ground a couple feet away and Ben holding a shotgun looking completely freaked out.

"Come one, we gotta get to a hospital. Ben, give the gun to her," Dean says, nodding to Gracilynn. Ben hands Gracilynn the gun who takes it from him and takes point. Sam takes Ruby's gun from Dean and heads to the front of the group. Gracilynn grabs Ben and gently puts him between her and Dean. "Sam, we need a ride."

Dean picks Lisa back up and the group follows Sam out of the building. Once outside, Sam takes off to find a car and Gracilynn looks over at her dad and Lisa.

"Dad?" Gracilynn asks, not needing to have to say anything else.

"She'll be fine," Dean says, not looking over at her. Gracilynn bites her lip but leaves the answer as is, not really wanting to know the truth. Gracilynn turns her attention over to Ben, who still looks pretty freaked out.

"Ben, you okay?" Gracilynn asks.

"Huh?" Ben asks, shifting his gaze from his mom over to Gracilynn. "Uh…yeah…sure."

"Hey, everything's gonna be fine kiddo," Gracilynn says, her protective instincts kicking in. She puts an arm around his shoulders and squeezes them. There is a sound and Sam rounds a corner with a car he stole.

"Go, go, go, go," Dean says as Sam stops the car in front of them. Dean, who's still carrying Lisa, climbs into the back seat and Gracilynn and Ben climb into the front seat, Ben in the middle. Dean looks down at Lisa's blood on his hands. Ben looks back at them, worry evident all over his face. "She's fine, Ben. She's fine. She's gonna be just fine. Almost there."

Dean looks down at Lisa.

"Hey, hey. Stay with me," Dean says to her when she seems to be drifting off. Dean looks over at Sam. "Sam, you gotta go faster, man!"

Dean looks back down at Lisa. Gracilynn looks behind her in the back seat, worry evident in her own eyes. Without thinking, she wraps an arm around Ben once again.

"You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be just fine," Dean says to Lisa, not sure if it's more for her, himself, or Ben and Gracilynn.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn and Sam are leaning up against the Impala outside of the hospital. Gracilynn had just came out a few minutes ago, letting her dad have some time with Lisa to himself. Someone walks out of the hospital doors and Gracilynn looks over, seeing its Ben.

"I'll be right back," Gracilynn says to her uncle before pushing off the car and running to catch up to Ben. Sam watches her, knowing it's hurting her to know what her dad is going to do. Gracilynn catches up to where Ben is walking, calling out his name.

"Ben!" she shouts. Ben stops, turning around and seeing her.

"What?" he snaps. Gracilynn is taken aback.

"Um…what are you doing out here?" she asks.

"It looks like I'm walking," Ben says. Gracilynn scrunches her eyebrows.

"Is something wrong?" Gracilynn asks.

"My mom's in the hospital because we got kidnapped by demons who were after you guys. No, nothing's wrong," Ben says sarcastically. Gracilynn bites her lip.

"We didn't know Crowley would go after you guys. As soon as we found out he had you, we were looking for you. Finding ways to save you," Gracilynn says.

"That doesn't erase the fact my mom was stabbed," Ben argues.

"You're right. Nothing will. But we would never put you two in danger on purpose. You know that right?" Gracilynn asks. Ben sighs.

"Yeah…I know," he replies.

"Hey, do me a favor okay?" Gracilynn says. Ben looks over at her, picking up on the emotion in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asks. Gracilynn forces a smile.

"Watch out for yourself and mom for us okay? And uh…just…Stay outta trouble," Gracilynn says.

"Gracilynn, what's going on?" Ben asks. Gracilynn looks behind Ben seeing Cas standing there and she feels her eyes begin to sting. "Gracilynn?"

Gracilynn looks back over at Ben and gives him a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Ya know, I never had any siblings growing up. You were the closest thing I had to a brother," Gracilynn says. Ben's eyes narrow again, knowing something's going on. "I'll miss ya."

"I'll miss you too," Ben says in turn. Gracilynn pulls Ben in for a hug which he returns. Gracilynn looks over at Cas.

"I love ya kiddo," Gracilynn says, seeing Cas walk towards them. Gracilynn closes her eyes and a tear escapes. Gracilynn forces herself to pull away and ruffles Ben's hair. "Bye."

"Bye," Ben says as Gracilynn turns around and walks away.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam watches as Gracilynn catches up to Ben and talks to him. Sam sighs, knowing this was going to be just as hard for her as it was going to be for Dean. He sees Cas appear a little ways away from them, watching. Gracilynn notices him and Sam watches as she gives Ben a hug. Gracilynn reluctantly lets go and ruffles Ben's hair, walking away. Sam sighs again. He'd give Gracilynn some time to herself before he caught up with her.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean walks down the stairs and crosses the street to where the Impala and Sam are.

"Well?" Sam asks.

"Well, nothing," Dean replies, opening the car door and climbing in. Sam clears his throat, climbing into the car himself seeing Gracilynn begin walking towards the car. Sam sighs.

"Dean, you know, you've pulled some shady crap before, but this…" Sam says, shaking his head. "…has got to be the worst."

Sam scoffs as the back door opens and Gracilynn climbs in.

"Whitewashing their memories? It's the same thing Smalls did…Take it from people who know…" Sam says.

"If you ever mention Lisa and Ben to me again, I will break your nose," Dean says through his emotion, but firmly.

"Dean," Sam begins.

"I'm not kidding," Dean says. Sam is about to protest, but Dean looks over at him and Sam sees tears in Dean's eyes. Sam nods his head. He looks back at Gracilynn and sees she's not fairing too much better and so he closes his door and Dean drives off without saying another word.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Gracilynn walks out the back door of Bobby's house, seeing her dad sitting on the hood of the Impala, drinking a beer. Gracilynn hesitates a moment before walking over to him and climbing on top of the hood herself, sitting next to Dean.

"Hey, dad?" Gracilynn asks hesitantly.

"Yeah," Dean says, not looking her way.

"Can I say something without you getting angry?" Gracilynn says.

"Gracilynn if this has anything to do with what I think this has something to do with, you should probly go back inside," Dean says. Gracilynn hesitates, biting her lip, but decides to move forward with what she's going to say anyways.

"Ya know, we make a lot of sacrifices for the people we care about. And we do it knowing it's gonna destroy us in the process," Gracilynn begins.

"Gracilynn," Dean warns, finally looking over at her sternly.

"Just…just let me say this," Gracilynn says. Dean sighs and looks back out over the yard. Gracilynn takes this as her cue and takes a deep breath. "It's not easy erasing someone you love out of your life no matter the reason. It hurts like hell. I should know. I just…I just want you to know that I understand why you had to do it. And I know where you are right now. I've been there. I'm there right now. And I know crying on someone's shoulder really isn't your style but just know that we're all here for you."

Dean doesn't dare look at his daughter, feeling the tears begin to sting at his eyes once again. He lost Lisa and Ben with this decision but Gracilynn lost them too. He knew this was just as hard on her as it was him. Dean sighs and pulls a beer out of the cooler beside him on the ground, popping the top off and handing it to his daughter. Gracilynn takes it, leaning back on the windshield. Dean leans back as well, matching his daughters' position. He throws an arm around her shoulder taking a swig of his beer. Gracilynn takes a pull from her own and relaxes against her father knowing that even though things were really crappy right now, they'd be okay.

AN: Please let me know what ya'll think! I had some requests for a Dean/Gracie moment so hopefully I fulfilled it!


	40. He's Gonna Be Okay

AN: Another quick update for ya'll!

The Winchesters and Bobby are walking down an alley. Bobby had gotten a call from Eleanor Visyak earlier and they were here trying to find her. They weren't having any luck.

"Where is she?" Dean asks. Bobby shrugs.

"She said to meet her here. I'll try her again," Bobby answers. He takes out his cell phone and dials Eleanor's number. A phone is heard ringing nearby. The group of hunters look around and see it on the ground next to a dumpster. They rush over to it and see Eleanor sitting on the ground next to the dumpster. She is obviously hurt and Bobby kneels down next to her, the three Winchesters standing behind him.

"El?" Bobby asks her.

"Hey. I guess I could've used your help after all," Eleanor says, recalling back to when Bobby had offered to help her.

"Just be still," Bobby says to her.

"What happened?" Sam asks.

"They took me. I got away," Eleanor says. She opens her coat to reveal blood covering her shirt by her stomach.

"Oh, Ellie. What have they done to you?" Bobby asks, worry evident in his voice. Eleanor chuckles.

"Everything. The demon I could've handled, ya know, but when the angel stepped in, I…" Eleanor says, sighing afterwards. "I told him, Bobby. They have enough to crack Purgatory wide open."

"Tell me. I need to know," Bobby urgently says to her.

"They need virgin blood. That's a milk-run for them. And they need the blood of a Purgatory native, and well, they've got plenty of that now," Eleanor says.

"Have they opened it yet?" Dean asks. Eleanor shakes her head.

"Tomorrow. The moon…an eclipse. I'm sorry, Bobby," Eleanor answers.

"No, it's okay. It's okay," Bobby assures her.

"I'm sorry, really sorr…" Eleanor begins but Bobby cuts her off.

"Tell us where they are," Bobby says. Eleanor dies. "El?"

Bobby rests a hand on her face and moves to close her eyes. Cas suddenly appears behind Dean, Sam, and Gracilynn.

"I'm sorry this had to happen," Cas says. Bobby stands up and the Winchesters spin around to face Cas. "Crowley got carried away."

"Yeah, I bet it was all Crowley you son of a bitch!" Bobby shouts at him. Bobby goes to charge at Cas but Dean and Sam restrain him and Bobby steps back.

"You don't even see it, do you? How totally off the rails you are!" Dean shouts at Cas.

"Enough! I don't care what you think. I've tried to make you understand. You won't listen. So let me make this simple. _Please_, go home and let me stop Raphael. I won't ask again," Cas says to the group.

"Well, good, 'cause I think you already know the answer," Dean says darkly. Cas shakes his head.

"I wish it hadn't come to this. Well rest assured, when this is all over, I will save Sam, but only if you stand down," Cas says. Gracilynn's eyes grow big and Dean tries to hide his fear.

"What?" Gracilynn asks.

"Save Sam from what?" Dean demands. Cas suddenly disappears. He reappears directly behind Sam though and the group turns around seeing this. Cas quickly touches Sam's temple, breaking the wall inside his head before disappearing once again. Sam's knees buckle.

"Sam!"

"Uncle Sam!"

Gracilynn moves to grab her uncle but he's a lot bigger than her and she feels her own knees beginning to buckle. Suddenly, the weight isn't so heavy and she looks over to see her dad taking the weight as well. They slowly set Sam down on the ground and Dean gently taps Sam's face.

"Sam. Sam! Come on Sammy," Dean says, but doesn't get a response from his brother.

"Dad?" Gracilynn asks, looking to her dad for answers.

"Son of a Bitch," Dean mutters, fear evident in his eyes. He rubs a hand through his hair and down his face.

"We need to get Sam back to my place," Bobby says, looking around. Dean and Gracilynn don't move, still watching for any move from Sam. "Dean. Gracilynn."

Dean and Gracilynn finally look up at Bobby.

"We need to get Sam back to the house," Bobby reiterates. Dean nods his head.

"Okay. Okay. Gracie, get the door," Dean says, picking up Sam and throwing him over his shoulder. Gracilynn runs ahead and opens the back seat of the Impala. Dean arrives and sets Sam down on the back seat as gently as he can and shuts the door.

"I'll meet ya two there," Bobby says, heading to his own car. Gracilynn tears her eyes from her uncle's prone form and looks over at her dad.

"He's gonna be okay, right dad?" Gracilynn asks, silently begging her dad to make this all right. Dean looks over at her, hating the look she was giving him.

"He's gonna be fine Gracie," Dean says, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Get in the car."

Gracilynn climbs into the front seat, shutting the door behind her as her dad does the same in the driver's seat. Dean starts the Impala up and pulls out behind Bobby, hoping Sam truly was going to be fine.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean sits idly by Sam in the panic room where Sam is lying on the cot. Gracilynn is sitting in a chair in the corner, her eyes never leaving her uncle's comatose body. Her dad had been trying to get Sam to rouse but there was nothing yet.

"Sammy? Come on, snap out of it," Dean begs once again, but still no results.

"How could Cas do this?" Gracilynn asks her dad. "I thought he was supposed to be our friend."

Dean looks over at his daughter. It was funny how something so tragic as this could make her revert back to a nine-year old. He hated it.

"I don't baby. Cas isn't himself right now," Dean says, getting up and beginning to pace the room. There is a noise and Bobby appears at the doorway of the panic room.

"Anything?" he asks Dean.

"I can't just sit here, Bobby. I've got to help him," Dean says, needing to be able to help his younger brother.

"Dean," Bobby says.

"You know, dreamscape his noggin. Something," Dean all but begs.

"You know what Cas did. The dam inside your brother's head is gone, and all hell's spilling loose. We don't know what's going on inside," Bobby warns.

"I don't care. We have got to do something!" Dean shouts in frustration.

"And we will, but right now we got sixteen hours 'til they pop Purgatory. I'm down one man. I can't afford to be down two," Bobby argues.

"Yeah, and how's that going, huh? We've got no line on Crowley. We got no line on Cas. Balthazar's MIA. I mean, all we've got is Sam, going through whatever the hell this is!" Dean shouts angrily.

"You know…," Bobby says, turning a glass over and pouring a drink. "…this is exactly what Cas wants. For you to fall to pieces. Just try to think of what Sam would want."

Bobby holds out the drink and Dean hesitates before taking it from him.

"Find Cas, Bobby. Find him now," Dean demands.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean and Gracilynn are still sitting in the panic room, watching over Sam. It had been a while since Bobby had been down there and they were hoping he was able to find out where Cas was. Suddenly, Sam begins to convulse on the bed. Dean instantly leans over resting a hand on Sam's body but not knowing what else to do.

"Sammy! Sam!" Dean shouts for his brother.

"Da…Dad?" Gracilynn stutters out, tears forming in her eyes. Dean's hand moves to Sam's chest and Sam's body stills. "Dad?"

Dean looks over at Gracilynn, having heard her whisper. A tear falls down her face and he feels his own eyes begin to prickle. He pushes the tears back and focuses on his daughter.

"He's gonna be okay Gracie. He's…he's gonna be okay," Dean assures her, but knows Gracilynn doesn't really believe this.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam is still lying unconscious on the cot in the panic room. Dean is sitting in his chair next to him, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Gracilynn is sitting on the floor next to him, her head resting on her arms which are in turn on the cot. She had fallen asleep about a half an hour ago.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Bobby's voice says. Dean looks up and sees Bobby outside the room door, Balthazar is with him. Dean glances at Gracilynn, making sure she's still asleep. Satisfied, he stands up and walks over to where Bobby and Balthazar are.

"Well, at least you mudfish finally got the angel-proofing right," Balthazar says, eyeing the symbols on the wall. Balthazar points to Sam. "How's Sleeping Beauty? You didn't steal any kisses, I trust?"

"What the hell took you so long?" Dean asks angrily.

"Honestly? I was having second thoughts," Balthazar answers truthfully.

"About?" Dean asks.

"About whether to help you. I was thinking maybe... Maybe I should rip out your sticky bits instead," Balthazar replies.

"And what did you decide?" Bobby asks, standing a step behind Dean.

"Well…" Balthazar says, pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to Dean. "Cas and Crowley are there. That's where the show gets started."

Dean takes the paper from Balthazar and opens it up, showing Bobby. It's an address in Bootback, Kansas.

"Alright, well give us a minute to pack up and then zap us there," Dean says.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. I don't think so," Balthazar says, taking a step back.

"Balthazar," Dean warns.

"I'm betraying a friend here. A very powerful friend. We all are. So I think I've stuck my neck out far enough already. Good luck," Balthazar says, disappearing. Dean and Bobby share a look. There is shuffling behind them and Dean whips around to see Gracilynn groggily sitting up. She looks over at them and takes them in.

"Did I miss something?" she asks sleepily.

"We found out where Cas and Crowley are," Dean says.

"You did?" Gracilynn asks, instantly alert and she stands up, walking over to them. "Where?"

Dean hands her the paper Balthazar gave them and Gracilynn reads it.

"Why does everything lead back to Kansas?" Gracilynn mutters remembering the whole apocalypse showdown taking place there as well. "So, when are you leaving?"

"As soon as we pack up," Dean answers, then it hits him. "Wait…"

Dean looks over at his daughter realizing what she has just asked. Gracilynn catches on and forces a smile.

"Someone's gotta keep a watch over Uncle Sammy," Gracilynn says. Dean forces a smile of his own.

AN: Please review! Only one more chapter!


	41. Take Care of Him

AN: Okay everyone…here it is… :'(… the last chapter of this story. Good news though I've already started on the new story! So, without further ado…

Bobby is packing some things into a bag, including two angel killing swords and a flask of holy water. He picks up the bag and starts to walk out, looking behind him at Dean.

"Time's up, Dean," he says.

"Yeah, just a second," Dean says, standing over Sam. He kneels down next to him. "Alright, I'm gonna give Gracie the address of where we're gonna be, Sam. You get your lazy ass out of bed and come and meet us. Sammy, please."

Dean stands up and walks over to where Gracilynn is standing and waiting. He hands her the piece of paper with the address on it and Sam's gun. Gracilynn takes it and sets them on the table next to her.

"Good luck Dad," Gracilynn says.

"Take care of him, Gracie," Dean says, giving his daughter a hug. Gracilynn returns it, feeling her dad kiss the top of her head. "I'll see ya soon."

With that Dean pulls away and follows Bobby out of the panic room and up the stairs. Gracilynn watches until they are out of sight and then looks over at her uncle. She sighs and takes up vigil in her dad's vacated chair.

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Gracilynn is sitting in the chair, staring down at the object in her hands, the black cord hanging. Gracilynn's thumb rubs over the gold charm. She had picked it out of the trash hoping that one day she'd give it to her uncle and he'd find the courage to give it back to her dad. And that her dad were start wearing it again. She just hoped she'd still have that chance. Gracilynn glances over at her uncle, seeing no change. She averts her gaze back to the necklace, knowing that it means so much more than a mere piece of jewelry. It symbolized the trust between her dad and uncle. And that was probably one of the most important things between them.

She hears a noise come from her uncle and she looks up in time to see him begin convulsing again. Gracilynn's eyes grow big and she shoves the necklace in her pocket, leaning over, a hand hovering over her uncle's shoulder. She didn't want to do anything wrong and hurt him anymore than he already was. Gracilynn feels her eyes begin to sting as her uncle's body arches off the bed.

"Uncle Sammy?" Gracilynn pleads her voice breaking. "Come on, Uncle Sammy. Snap out of it. Please."

Just as soon as Sam has begun convulsing, he stops. Gracilynn watches him, not sure what to do. Sam is completely still. Gracilynn reaches her hand towards his shoulder.

"Uncle Sammy?" she pleads again as her hand makes contact. Suddenly, Sam jolts upright. Gracilynn jumps back in surprise. Sam is breathing heavy, his eyes wild looking around. Gracilynn sits back and waits. Eventually, Sam's eyes land on her and slowly recognition is seen in his eyes.

"Smalls?" Sam asks. A half sob, half laugh escapes Gracilynn and before she can think about it she's in her uncle's arms, gripping him tight. Sam returns her fierce grip with one of his own.

"We weren't sure if you were gonna…" Gracilynn mumbles into Sam's shoulder. Sam tries to force the memories attempting to escape back down.

"Well, I'm here now. Where's Dean?" Sam asks, pulling away from his niece and looking at her.

"Him and Uncle Bobby went after Cas," Gracilynn says, getting up and grabbing the piece of paper and gun from the table and returning back to the chair. She hands him the paper and Sam reads it.

"We need to go. Now," Sam says urgently, looking up at Gracilynn. Gracilynn bites her lip but knows there's no way to stop him from going. She holds out his gun and Sam grabs it, placing it in the back of his waistband as he struggles to stand up. Gracilynn stands up, ready to catch him if need be.

"Fine. But I'm driving," Gracilynn says.

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Gracilynn glances over at her uncle sitting in the passenger seat of Bobby's car. Sam let's out another hiss and a groan and bends over, grabbing his head. He had been doing this periodically on their drive to Kansas.

"Uncle Sammy? You sure you're okay?" Gracilynn asks for what must've been the hundredth time. Sam takes a couple deep breaths and pushes himself back up. He looks over at his niece seeing the worry and fear all over her face. He tries to give her a smile, but ultimately fails.

"I'll be fine. Let's just get to Dean and Bobby," Sam says, turning the look out the window.

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Gracilynn pulls the car over and parks it out of site. The two younger Winchesters climb out of the vehicle and begin making their way towards where the building is. Gracilynn glances over at her uncle again as he stumbles slightly. Gracilynn bites her bottom lip but doesn't say anything, already knowing what her uncle is going to say. They walk a little further and Gracilynn stops abruptly, taking in the upside down Impala in front of her.

"Son of a Bitch," she gasps, taking off towards the car. As she reaches it she quickly glances inside not seeing anything but a little blood. Gracilynn stands up and looks around the yard as her uncle comes to a stop next to her. "They're not here. They must be inside."

Gracilynn begins to move towards the building but stops when she hears her uncle groan. She turns around and sees him grasping his head in pain. Gracilynn reaches over and gently squeezes his shoulder, letting him know she's there. Sam catches his breath and pushes himself forward towards the building.

Gracilynn and Sam sneak up to the door. Gracilynn quietly opens it and looks around, not seeing anyone, or anything, around. She gives her uncle a nod and the two of them walk into the building. A hand grabs Gracilynn's arm and pulls her back. She turns around, ready to throw a punch, but realizes it's her uncle. She gives him a questioning look.

"Maybe you should stay here. Keep a look out," Sam says.

"Like hell I am," Gracilynn hisses quietly. "I'm _not_ leaving your side. You _never_ go into a hunt without backup and dammit, I'm your backup."

Sam sighs but gives in nonetheless. He knew it was a long shot but he figured he'd try anyways. The two of them make their way through the maze of hallways, trying to find where Dean, Bobby, and Cas were. They hear voices up ahead and they quietly walk down the hall, keeping an eye out for any enemies. They turn right at the next intersection, the voices getting louder. Gracilynn recognizes her dad's voice being one of them. A sound like something wet exploding is heard and then Cas's voice speaks up.

"So, you see, I saved you."

"Sure thing, Cas. Thank you," Dean says.

"You doubted me, fought against me, but I was right all along," Cas points out. Gracilynn holds her breath as she and her uncle walk further down the hall.

"Okay, Cas, you were. We're sorry. Now let's just defuse you, okay?" Dean's voice says.

"What do you mean?" Cas asks, obviously not understanding why Dean would say this.

"You're full of nuke. It's not safe. So, before the eclipse ends, let's get them souls back to where they belong," Dean explains.

"Oh no, they belong with me," Cas challenges. Gracilynn sucks in a breath of air and she turns to look at her uncle behind her. They share a look and hurry down to the door on the right as Dean's voice is heard again.

"No, Cas, it's it-it's scrambling your brain," Dean counters.

"No, I'm not finished yet. Raphael had many followers, and I must punish them all severely," Cas declares. Gracilynn and Sam peer in the room, seeing Cas's back to them and Dean and Bobby facing him.

"Listen to me. Listen, I know there's a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I'd have died for you. I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you... Please. I've lost Lisa, I've lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you too. You don't need this kind of juice anymore, Cas. Get rid of it before it kills us all," Dean pleads. Gracilynn moves to sneak in but Sam yanks her back.

"Stay here," he mouths. Gracilynn rolls her eyes. Sam crouches down and sneaks into the room as Cas begins talking again.

"You're just saying that because I won. Because you're afraid," Cas says. Sam picks up the angel killing sword from the ground. Gracilynn holds her breath for the climax. "You're not my family, Dean. I have no family."

Sam stabs Cas in the back with it, groaning. Gracilynn watches and waits but nothing happens. Dean's eyes are wide in surprised, not expecting to see Sam there. Gracilynn watches as Cas pulls the sword out of his back. He eyes wide when she sees there's no blood on it. Cas puts the sword down.

"I'm glad you made it, Sam. Gracilynn. You might as well come out here too," Cas says without turning his back. Gracilynn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, stepping into the room and standing next to her uncle. "The angel blade won't work, because I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one. So you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you."

AN: Please, please, please review and let me know what ya'll thought! Can't wait to see ya'll in the new story! Thanks to everyone for still reading and continuing to follow this series. I love writing it and am excited to start the new chapter in Gracie's life!


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